A.Raiders 4 - 2 Ultra_Bacau (371396196)

45449 punters turned up at Swindler's Den, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came. Jesús Charro was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Balázs Tivadar and Vili Silvasti. A.Raiders started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Starters: Corvese - Hindmarsh, Bolman, Romero - Kaits, Bedenham, Farrar, Ng, Ilberg - Dockerill, Inderbitzin.

A 3-4-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Ultra_Bacau. They fielded: Rusling - Koumantarakis, Waldron, Teschl - Kacprzyk, Kiprianos, Ramírez, Zodilă - Carnicero, Matakorama, Campbell.

Ultra_Bacau used their ability to concentrate their attacks in the middle of the pitch, rather than on the wings. After some beautiful movement down the left wing, K. Kaits scored for A.Raiders putting them ahead 1 - 0, after 3 minutes. 6 minutes into the game, Ultra_Bacau had difficulty finding their positions and their organisation dropped to passable. A speedy charge from the left side of the field increased the lead of A.Raiders to 2 - 0 as M. Ilberg finished it off competently, firing in from an acute angle. 13 minutes into the game, J. Bolman had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came W. Achtelik. After 23 minutes, there was a bit of a mixup on the field as Ultra_Bacau found themselves out of position and their organisation level dropped to passable. After 29 minutes, D. Dockerill put A.Raiders ahead 3 - 0 when he rose to head in a cross from the right wing. By now, the players in A.Raiders felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. 3 - 0 was the halftime score. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by A.Raiders, with 57 percent of the ball.

Despite his frustration resulting in the smashing of a few teacups, the coach of Ultra_Bacau was able to get his message across, and raised Ultra_Bacau's organisation to solid. Ultra_Bacau had a good opportunity to attack on the wing, but remembered their instructions to go for middle attacks. With 71 minutes played, V. Carnicero had a fantastic opportunity to reply but his shot flew harmlessly into the side-netting of the goal. 73 minutes in, Ultra_Bacau's P. Kacprzyk received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Due to a severely mistimed tackle, M. Ilberg of A.Raiders spent some time on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game. A well placed corner kick from V. Kiprianos was followed by K. Waldron's hard but accurate header. The well executed routine resulted in a goal for Ultra_Bacau, the score now 3 - 1. A.Raiders put themselves up 4 - 1 when D. Dockerill broke through on the right, leaving the entire defence trailing in his wake. Given a free kick close to the byline, Ultra_Bacau tried a move that loyal fans may recognise from training. A pass to the side pulled the defence out of position which let V. Teschl slip through on goal. He didn't have to break his stride, and slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 4 - 2, 80 minutes into the game. V. Carnicero had a couple of good opportunities to reply, but the home team's keeper O. Corvese was simply unbeatable. The referee showed A.Raiders's D. Dockerill the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. A.Raiders enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 52 percent of possession.

Most important A.Raiders player was D. Dockerill. W. Achtelik was a disappointment, however. Ultra_Bacau's best player was J. Matakorama. However, D. Rusling made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 4 - 2.