Buccaneers 2 - 1 Sikie (366398735)

Clear skies welcomed the 39656 spectators who had made their way to The Blackbeard's Golden Ship. Kévin Friboulet was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Quintin Sibold and Goran Pantić. Buccaneers started off with a 5-3-2 lineup. Lineup: Lemnitskiy - Roze, Kalniņš, Tenis, Zārds, Krūziņš - Stikāns, Liepiņš, Bochkur - Delcourt, Drange.

Sikie tactics involved an interesting 4-3-3 combination. The following players took the field: Karamäki - Boschiero, Nieminen, Berardi, 综翊 (Zongyi) - Anger, Lehel, Saliņš - Svezhentsev, Šemiotas, Apáti.

Buccaneers clearly had decided to counter-attack when they could. Sikie saw most attack opportunities on the wings. After 6 minutes, Sikie were awarded a free kick as their counter attack broke down. The set piece was lifted over the top, intended to open up the defence. However, the target man seemed to be taken by surprise, and could not reach the ball before it crossed the line for a goal kick. After 18 minutes, Buccaneers were awarded a free kick. Rather than shooting straight at goal, the taker went for an indirect variant which seemed to take his team mates a bit by surprise. U. Delcourt did attempt a finish, but from an awkward position, sending the ball into the away fans. 20 minutes in, the referee awarded Buccaneers a penalty. L. Drange coolly slotted it home for a 1 - 0 lead. Halftime score was 1 - 0. Buccaneers enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 65 percent of possession.

The referee showed Sikie's M. Nieminen the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Buccaneers were forced into a substitution as A. Kalniņš couldn't continue due to some rough treatment, forcing T. Geenens to come in off the bench. It was obvious that Sikie had instructions to attack on the wings instead of in the middle. Sikie almost scored after a counterattack 67 minutes into the match, but I. Svezhentsev took a shot from the left that landed harmlessly in the side of the net. L. Drange increased Buccaneers's lead to 2 - 0 with a penalty spot cannonball. M. Roze had a fantastic opportunity to put Buccaneers up another goal 69 minutes into the match, but he fired just over the crossbar. After 80 minutes, V. Apáti sent the corner kick right to J. Saliņš who headed it sharply past the keeper. 2 - 1! J. Zārds could have increased the lead after 82 minutes, but his shot hit the post after a nice combination in the middle of the park. Buccaneers claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 65 percent.

O. Bochkur performed admirably for Buccaneers. T. Geenens was a disappointment, however. Sikie's best player was V. Apáti. However, K. Karamäki made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 2 - 1.