Athlético 3 - 3 DAD (378410593)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 2858 at Toutourium today. Gianluca Cannone was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Eddie Almmar and Chris Kampitsch. A 4-5-1 alignment was the formation of choice for Athlético. They fielded: Juffermans - Alley, Piveteau, Fani, Oketola - Koren, Kérékou, Holka, D'Jaffo, Ercan - Gyimesi.

DAD had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Ataíde - Sousa Esteves, Canavesi, Mizrachi - Kalcina, Pagter, Skripnik, Kroes, Rodrigues Esteves - Gerber, Perauer.

It was an obvious ambition of DAD to use their ability at attacking on the flanks. The head of B. Fani connected with a corner kick after 2 minutes, and the ball ended up with K. Alley of Athlético who blasted the ball into the net, making the score 1 - 0. Having been awarded a free kick in an awkward position after 7 minutes, DAD did not go for a shot but instead fired the ball hard into the 6 yard box. After a brief tussle with his marker, P. Skripnik was able to power the ball past the keeper to make the score 1 - 1. Athlético's counterattacks were lethal to the opposing defence, allowing C. Koren to score easily from the right flank for 2 - 1. The DAD free kick 20 minutes into the match seemed wasted, as the shot was both short and off target. But was this actually a plan? The ball landed at the feet of J. Perauer, who was completely unmarked in the box. That's 2 - 2! A wonderful trick by C. Koren that left A. Canavesi bewildered really deserved to end in a goal but the keeper made a fine save. With 23 minutes played, the visitors broke through on the right after some poor defending. J. Perauer put the ball away for 2 - 3. With 24 minutes having been played, Athlético scored to make it 3 - 3. A dribble down the left wing, followed by a shot which took a wicked bounce off a defender resulted in the keeper having no chance. Everyone thought it'd been an own goal, but G. Gyimesi was marked down as the scorer. As the 34 minute mark approached, the DAD coach decided it was time for a substitution. P. Skripnik reluctantly made way for E. Guerreiro on the pitch. Halftime score was 3 - 3. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by DAD, with 54 percent of the ball.

After 46 minutes, the DAD coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving A. Canavesi off the field. G. Quintelier took his place. The DAD captaincy was handed to G. Quintelier. G. Gyimesi could have put Athlético into the lead after 58 minutes, but the free kick went just wide. 61 minutes into the match DAD's J. Rodrigues Esteves viciously shoved another player from behind while going for a loose ball and was sent off the pitch with a red card. DAD's S. Pagter refused to leave the field after injuring his achilles tendon after 76 minutes. DAD's J. Perauer was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 86 minutes. Possession in this half belonged to Athlético, who controlled the ball 52 percent of the time.

G. Gyimesi performed admirably for Athlético. S. D'Jaffo was a disappointment, however. DAD's best player was J. Perauer. However, M. Ataíde made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 3 - 3.