Dutchmonkey 0 - 3 United (374690379)

26731 fans braved the pouring rain at the Monkey Dome. Merle Stiles was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Bruno Johansson and Juan Gancedo. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Dutchmonkey. They fielded: Potter - Pezzino, Škapa, Pišek - Belotti, Paulsson, Sveshnikov, Mezzina, Scandella - Vakaliukas, Drastík.

United started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players took the field: Barišić - Ita, Argio, Cheyns - Garbaty, Bingen, de Vreese, Andeweg, Figueiras - Ebdrup, Pérez.

Pressing was the tactic of the day for Dutchmonkey. Many thought E. Sveshnikov ought to have been awarded a penalty 24 minutes into the game, as he went down trying to dribble around D. Barišić after a determined run through the middle. 29 minutes in, Dutchmonkey's Ž. Vakaliukas received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. United had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially 33 minutes in when J. Argio came up alone against T. Potter who managed a block. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, R. Pérez got himself booked. The manager of United was not happy. R. Pérez came close to putting the visiting team one up 38 minutes into the match, following a solo raid down the middle, but T. Potter managed to tip the ball to a corner. The rain made it hard for players like K. Škapa to show their technical control of the ball on this soggy day. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave K. Bingen from United a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 41 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! Halftime score was 0 - 0. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by United, with 53 percent of the ball.

After 54 minutes, United's K. Bingen made his way through the middle and nonchalantly placed the ball out of the keeper's reach, putting the visitors up 0 - 1. With 66 minutes played, J. de Vreese of United fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. Thighs bulging, K. Bingen charged past the weaker players, seemingly oblivious to the rain. J. Argio, who often relies on his speed, had a rotten day on the drenched grass. After 82 minutes, United's J. Figueiras burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 0 - 2. By now, the players in United felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. With 84 minutes played, a quick exchange of passes on the left wing freed C. Cheyns of United to slip through the defence and score another goal for the visitors. That made the score 0 - 3. 85 minutes into the match, R. Pérez came through the middle and almost added to his team's lead, but the shot went wide. United enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 58 percent of possession.

Dutchmonkey's best player was Ž. Vakaliukas. D. Belotti on the other hand, had a terrible day. United's top performer was clearly S. Andeweg. R. Pérez was a disappointment, however. The match ends 0 - 3.