mak 2 - 3 Rojos (379152798)

The weather was pretty good, and a crowd of 3590 had shown up at mak rl Arena for the match. Steffen Kersaan was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Mark Bubendey and Sebastian Kornpointer. mak had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Wiles - Thrane, Čanković, Goren - Scholz, Arbel, Barzilay, Lustig, Galansky - De Marchi, Rannal.

A 5-5-0 alignment was the formation of choice for Rojos. Lineup: Maroja - Rizo, Halcón, Aguasanta, Gisbert, Llorens - Gašparov, Castells, Meije, Clavé, Santos Aires -.

Rojos decided to play creatively. 6 minutes had elapsed when a great chance for mak to take the lead after a good cross from the right found B. Goren alone with the keeper, but he chipped it to the wrong side of the post. A. Lustig of mak was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. A wonderful trick by A. Rannal that left I. Meije bewildered really deserved to end in a goal but the keeper made a fine save. mak's B. Goren had to watch the rest of the game from the sidelines, after twisting his ankle with 33 minutes having been played. A. Dramski was the replacement. A. Rannal was handed the mak captain's armband. Rojos's A. Gisbert could have put the guests one up after 34 minutes after chasing a through ball from the right, but R. Wiles was as fast as a snake, grabbing the ball from under his nose. The home side put themselves ahead 1 - 0 after 35 minutes courtesy of a breakthrough from S. Čanković, who scored with a stunning volley following a cross from the right wing. The teams went for the halftime break at 1 - 0. Neither team was controlling the possession at this point in the match, with the stats showing a 50:50 split.

A. Lacima was called on to replace Rojos's M. Gašparov after 51 minutes following a nasty collision. Having been awarded a free kick in an awkward position after 55 minutes, Rojos did not go for a shot but instead fired the ball hard into the 6 yard box. After a brief tussle with his marker, D. Halcón was able to power the ball past the keeper to make the score 1 - 1. mak's E. De Marchi was shown a yellow card after 67 minutes for slicing down an opponent. At 69 minutes played, A. Rannal came in from the right with the intention of giving mak the lead, but his rocket of a shot rattled the crossbar. mak had most of the ball, with 55 percent of possession.

As neither team had managed to win, extra time was called. Still tied after extra time, the crowd was buzzing as the teams prepared for a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner.

mak's E. Galansky didn't look like he was confident as he stepped up, and produced a badly struck penalty - right into the arms of E. Maroja. The score remained 1 - 1. Rojos's Ñ. Rizo looked like he knew exactly where he wanted to put the ball, but unfortunately his shot went wide of the left hand post. Still 1 - 1. A confident A. Lustig of mak put the ball right where he wanted, but E. Maroja was right there for the save. No goal. Oooh - how unlucky! Rojos's E. Llorens attempt hit the underside of the bar, but rebounded down into the grateful arms of R. Wiles. The score stays 1 - 1. mak's N. Barzilay looked nervous even as he was putting the ball on the spot. He didn't take much of a run up, and his weak shot was easily saved by the keeper. Boy, does A. Gisbert of Rojos know how to treat a football or what?! He's curled that shot past the keeper and into the top corner of the goal - a great penalty! 1 - 2. Clearly nervous from the start, mak's B. Arbel took a long run up, but could only blast the ball over the bar. The score remains 1 - 2. Rojos's E. Castells showed he has nerves of steel when it comes to penalties, easily changing the score to 1 - 3. mak's A. Dramski made no mistake. E. Maroja didn't have a chance. 2 - 3. Oooh - how unlucky! Rojos's N. Santos Aires attempt hit the underside of the bar, but rebounded down into the grateful arms of R. Wiles. The score stays 2 - 3. mak's top performer was clearly A. Lustig. However, E. De Marchi made a disastrous appearance. Rojos's best player was X. Aguasanta. E. Llorens turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 2 - 3.