Hightech 3 - 5 HABANA KLU (392708406)

Clouds darkened the skies at Hightech Arena as 43105 spectators turned up for the match. Alexander Parmeggiani was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Stefan Milanov and Peter Nogler. A 4-5-1 alignment was the formation of choice for Hightech. They fielded: Gaup - Rushing, Perez, Tijsterman, Grace - Rubin, Berglund, Ferreira, Cromwell, Maire - Brown.

HABANA KLU started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players took the field: Ðukanović - Paszek, Rowiński, Encarnação - Soygüven, Erdenay, Donnarumma, Schoener, Hammel - Antunes Carvalho, Dumitrache.

Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of Hightech. Hightech took the lead 10 minutes into the game by 1 - 0, as R. Maire elegantly received a long range pass through the middle, finishing off with a half-volley shot just below the bar. W. Tijsterman neatly controlled the ball after a short corner, and knocked it on to F. Grace who had the whole net open before him, but only managed to hit the post. The visitors didn't give in and, after 35 minutes, M. Donnarumma got through the home side's central line of defence, rolling in the equaliser to make it 1 - 1. A. Señoráns was called on to replace HABANA KLU's D. Encarnação after 38 minutes following a nasty collision. 39 minutes into the match HABANA KLU's A. Señoráns head butted an opponent nastily, and so the referee sent him off immediately. Some quick footwork on the left side of the field 39 minutes into the match left HABANA KLU's M. Donnarumma completely free to score. 1 - 2 for the visitors. Due to some great work on the right wing Hightech's B. Rubin was able to even the score after 40 minutes to make the score 2 - 2. A mistake by the home side's central defence after 41 minutes allowed U. Schoener to score for HABANA KLU. The scoreboard now read 2 - 3. With 42 minutes played, M. Hammel nearly put the visitors another one up as he broke through in the middle and fired from just outside the box, but his shot passed just over the bar. 2 - 3 was the score after the first half. This part of the game was a standoff between the teams in terms of possession.

The bench was restless, and with 46 minutes passed Hightech's coach gave D. Lao the opportunity the player had been hoping for. R. Maire reluctantly left the field. I. Dumitrache was, after 48 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors' lead with a well placed diving header after the ball had looped into the centre, but the home side's keeper K. Gaup made the save. With 66 minutes played, Hightech's well-worked indirect free kick caused havoc in the penalty area, and when the ball eventually fell to F. Grace he gleefully slotted the ball home to make it 3 - 3. Priding himself in being an active coach, the HABANA KLU manager gave new instructions to his players after 70 minutes. The coach of HABANA KLU wanted to try to change things around after 74 minutes, and gave new tactical instructions. The home crowd was not impressed by the fancy moves of HABANA KLU's U. Schoener after 76 minutes. He converted a pass from the left for a goal, resulting in the visitors taking the 3 - 4 lead. After 83 minutes, a mistake by the home side's left defence allowed M. Erdenay to get through. He outclassed the home side's keeper, adding another goal for the visitors. 3 - 5. Hightech needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 84 minutes W. Tijsterman made way for À. Barguño. With things not going too well on the field, the Hightech coach made the decision to swap the positions of K. Gaup and À. Barguño with 84 minutes played. HABANA KLU enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 56 percent of possession.

Most important Hightech player was R. Brown. On the other hand, À. Barguño's play was disheartening. The most dominating HABANA KLU player was without a doubt J. Antunes Carvalho. However, I. Rowiński made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 3 - 5.