Arabia 2 - 1 fremadbagud (379350332)

Clear skies welcomed the 2501 spectators who had made their way to Gammelstaden Park. Alfredo Colucci was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Teodoro Manzoni and Bertrand Barrière. A 2-5-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Arabia. Starters: Riiho - Junnilainen, Leppäsalmi - Nystén, Viklund, Alasaari, Pursimo, Martinsuo - Valén, Lillqvist, Fabritius.

fremadbagud had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players took the field: Karsten - Jelle, Koch, Nordtorp - Tygesen, Dinesen, Fig Nielsen, Agerholm, Svensson - Jarić, Melson.

fremadbagud saw most attack opportunities on the wings. After 7 minutes of play, L. Martinsuo gave the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right. Things were deteriorating for the away team as Arabia scored another to make it 2 - 0 after a left side attack resulted in a goal for T. Leppäsalmi after 8 minutes. By now, the players in Arabia felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. With 28 minutes played, L. Martinsuo could have brought this one home for Arabia as he charged up on the left, but his hooked ball went just a bit too high. A swift counterattack by fremadbagud resulted in a free kick that B. Koch elegantly twisted into the goal - 2 - 1! It was 2 - 1 at the break. Arabia claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 78 percent.

After 61 minutes, L. Martinsuo sprinted between the opposing defenders and squared the ball, but the keeper deflected M. Valén's shot. Arabia's T. Alasaari had an excellent opportunity after 63 minutes, shooting after receiving a pass from the right hand side, but he missed the goal by miles! G. Lillqvist unleashed a swerving effort from the right that the visitors' keeper did well to tip wide. Although the whole team were struggling to impress, fremadbagud's M. Jarić was singled out as being the problem as he was called off the pitch after 70 minutes. N. Smed was given a chance to change things around. A great save by keeper P. Karsten after 77 minutes kept the visitors in the game after L. Martinsuo struck from the left with a real cannonball. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Arabia, with 78 percent of the ball.

Arabia's best player was A. Pursimo. On the other hand, J. Junnilainen's play was disheartening. N. Smed performed admirably for fremadbagud. A. Melson was a disappointment, however. The match ends 2 - 1.