Pickwick 3 - 1 LAKKIAONE (350983631)

Clear skies welcomed the 10046 spectators who had made their way to Pickwick Arena. Anton Baluev was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Bonawentura Ksawera and Mikolajus Kreizbergas. A 4-4-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Pickwick. The following players had been chosen: Rives - Flottwell, Guardiola, Galardini, Fernández Hinestrosa - Heertje, Silberschneider, Sitek, Haugen - Thomassen, De Milato.

LAKKIAONE started off with a 4-3-3 lineup. They fielded: Barcala - Mancini, Castaño, van der Kruk, Barra - Lössner, Martínez, Ziółkowski - Liberda, Angster, Pektay.

Pickwick saw most attack opportunities on the wings. LAKKIAONE clearly preferred using their ability to attack in the middle. 15 minutes into the match and the home team took a 1 - 0 lead after breaking through on the left. The scorer for Pickwick was F. Fernández Hinestrosa. A speedy charge from the left side of the field increased the lead of Pickwick to 2 - 0 as D. Heertje finished it off competently, firing in from an acute angle. It was obvious that Pickwick had instructions to attack on the wings instead of in the middle. With 38 minutes played, D. Sitek could have brought this one home for Pickwick as he charged up on the left, but his hooked ball went just a bit too high. J. Guardiola of Pickwick received a yellow card after 39 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. After 40 minutes Pickwick's F. Fernández Hinestrosa contracted a slight foot injury, but didn't want to leave the game. The away team improved the scoreline to 2 - 1, as T. Angster struck home, set up well by a play on the left 41 minutes into the match. 2 - 1 was the halftime score. Pickwick claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 56 percent.

Players in Pickwick heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. After 51 minutes, J. Haugen put Pickwick ahead 3 - 1 when he rose to head in a cross from the right wing. I. Thomassen wanted to play on, but the Pickwick coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 51 minutes into the game by D. Galvan. The Pickwick players could smell victory in the air. D. Heertje wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for D. Bottecchia after 51 minutes. Confident in their lead, Pickwick's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. Although the whole team were struggling to impress, LAKKIAONE's F. Martínez was singled out as being the problem as he was called off the pitch after 55 minutes. A. Mignon was given a chance to change things around. LAKKIAONE needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 60 minutes G. van der Kruk made way for F. Kozak. F. Kozak was handed the LAKKIAONE captain's armband. D. Galvan fired a shot from distance after 64 minutes, but the long shot couldn't find the net for Pickwick. With 66 minutes played, the LAKKIAONE coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. A. Viola came on, T. Angster had to leave the fray. After 68 minutes, Pickwick's K. Flottwell fell awkwardly, but was determined to stay in the match. That's the spirit! M. Mancini of LAKKIAONE was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. LAKKIAONE had a good opportunity to attack on the wing, but remembered their instructions to go for middle attacks. This part of the game was a standoff between the teams in terms of possession.

Pickwick's best player was G. De Milato. K. Flottwell on the other hand, had a terrible day. A. Viola performed admirably for LAKKIAONE. On the other hand, V. Barcala's play was disheartening. The match ends 3 - 1.