gasgas 0 - 2 Atletico (366148509)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 27774 at Macallè Dome today. Nemesio Chalco was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Tore Sagen and Piotr Kedzia. gasgas had chosen a strategic 5-3-2 formation. They fielded: Gioli - Ferolla, Tosoletti, Mianowany, Guadagnali, Piiponniemi - Sima, Rick, Markoff - Hopmans, Menta.

Atletico decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. Lineup: Margheriti - Gagliano, Tricomi, Civelli - Belluzzo, Tavolaro, Oppletal, Piroddi, Ciaccio - Ross, Miotti.

gasgas clearly had decided to counter-attack when they could. Making his way up the middle 6 minutes into the match, D. Hopmans almost managed to squeeze a goal past the visitors' keeper, but the alert N. Margheriti blocked it to keep the score level. After the game, the most discussed event will probably be the penalty given after 23 minutes that gave the visitors the 0 - 1 lead. Despite the controversy, G. Miotti struck home the penalty, as cool as anything. S. Ross came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle. He tried to lift the ball over N. Gioli but overcooked it and hit the bar instead. Atletico's S. Ross left the field after 28 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was G. Caniglia. G. Gagliano became the new Atletico captain. gasgas needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 30 minutes D. Menta made way for P. Gotha. gasgas almost scored after a swift counterattack 31 minutes into the game, but G. Ferolla put the shot from the left flank just outside the goal. Halftime score was 0 - 1. Possession in this half belonged to Atletico, who controlled the ball 56 percent of the time.

A drive down the left side allowed G. Gagliano to get in close and score another goal for Atletico after 68 minutes, taking the score to 0 - 2. The players of Atletico now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. With 75 minutes gone, a long pass from the defence of gasgas resulted in a counterattack that set L. Guadagnali free through the middle, but the keeper made a spectacular diving save. Atletico enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 53 percent of possession.

gasgas's top performer was clearly C. Sima. However, M. Piiponniemi made a disastrous appearance. The most dominating Atletico player was without a doubt G. Miotti. On the other hand, G. Caniglia's play was disheartening. The match ends 0 - 2.