Taviano 4 - 2 Marco (382025061)

7568 spectators arrived at asd Taviano Arenas, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Tamás Antall was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Andreas Collind and Massimo Corazzari. Taviano started off with a 3-4-3 lineup. They fielded: Rúzsa - Ciampi, Svanquist, Bontempi - Višņevs, Llaneras, Faro, Rudakov - Krijger, Pistarà, Tomasik.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Marco. Starters: Magnier - Pagano, Craioveanu, Fundusu - Bonotti, Ottati, Pedra, Linetti, Vilar de Barrio - Taliercio, Deza.

Taviano took a creative approach on the field. Marco used their ability to concentrate their attacks in the middle of the pitch, rather than on the wings. The home side put themselves ahead 1 - 0 after 3 minutes courtesy of a breakthrough from D. Višņevs, who scored with a stunning volley following a cross from the right wing. 7 minutes in, Marco's S. Taliercio received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Marco players heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their wing attacks to the middle instead. The visitors kept the pressure on to tie the game when, after 14 minutes, I. Deza broke through the centre and found himself alone with the keeper. B. Rúzsa made a great block, though. Things were going to get worse for the visitors. M. Rudakov squirmed through their central defence after 15 minutes, increasing the lead to 2 - 0. At this point, it was obvious that the players of Taviano lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. Marco's B. Bonotti was shown a yellow card after 36 minutes for slicing down an opponent. Taviano were forced into a substitution as S. Tomasik couldn't continue due to some rough treatment, forcing V. Yang to come in off the bench. A lovely run by Taviano's M. Rudakov left his markers for dead and should have resulted in a goal, but the finish went just wide. Coming from the right, D. Višņevs almost managed to score another goal for Taviano, but his header was tipped over the bar by the visitors' keeper. The head of D. Višņevs connected with a corner kick after 41 minutes, and the ball ended up with A. Bontempi of Taviano who blasted the ball into the net, making the score 3 - 0. The away team improved the scoreline to 3 - 1, as J. Pedra struck home, set up well by a play on the left 43 minutes into the match. The teams went for the halftime break at 3 - 1. Taviano enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 54 percent of possession.

A magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Taviano's M. Rudakov increasing the lead to 4 - 1. Taviano's M. Rudakov had an excellent opportunity after 78 minutes, shooting after receiving a pass from the right hand side, but he missed the goal by miles! The home team's fans were upset when, after 81 minutes, the visiting G. Fundusu broke through the central defence and kicked the ball past the keeper. 4 - 2 was the score. Possession of the ball saw an equal split between the teams during the forty-five minutes.

Taviano's best player was C. Pistarà. A. Bontempi was a disappointment, however. Marco's top performer was clearly I. Deza. On the other hand, R. Linetti's play was disheartening. The match ends 4 - 2.