Xirona 5 - 4 Saffré (392791273)

1429 spectators had come to Casernes Parc this cloudy day. Nick Schumucker was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Diego Fernández and Marc Philippe. Xirona tactics involved an interesting 4-5-1 combination. They fielded: Schaken - Nănescu, Zabloudil, Puigferrer, Pena Jr. - Paź, Goyena, Žunić, Jelizarovas, Buarque - Trepák.

Saffré decided to use a 4-4-2 set up. The following players took the field: Jawdai - Lebosse, Lecesne, Bouvier, Fermon - Leroy, Marchal, Mayeur, Le Moël - Bernad, Scharka.

For their match strategy, Xirona had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. A. Lecesne sailed high above the opponents as he headed in a corner kick from V. Lebosse after 27 minutes of play, making the score 0 - 1. Halftime score was 0 - 1. Xirona claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 73 percent.

Xirona's G. Puigferrer put his head to a well placed ball, lifted in from the left, and scored to make the score 1 - 1 with 56 minutes showing on the scoreboard clock. Xirona's C. Nănescu was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 60 minutes. Xirona had a good opportunity to take the lead as P. Žunić came up the left side, but he struck the ball weakly and it went straight into the arms of B. Jawdai. Saffré's C. Mayeur refused to leave the field after injuring his achilles tendon after 79 minutes. After 86 minutes, Xirona were awarded a free kick. Rather than shooting straight at goal, the taker went for an indirect variant which seemed to take his team mates a bit by surprise. R. Buarque did attempt a finish, but from an awkward position, sending the ball into the away fans. Xirona had most of the ball, with 72 percent of possession.

Still tied after 90 minutes, the match continued into extra time. Still tied after extra time, the crowd was buzzing as the teams prepared for a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner.

Xirona's C. Nănescu showed he has nerves of steel when it comes to penalties, easily changing the score to 2 - 1. Saffré's A. Leroy 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. A confident K. Paź of Xirona put the ball right where he wanted, but B. Jawdai was right there for the save. No goal. Saffré's P. Fermon was relaxed as he smoothly put the ball in the net. 2 - 2! Xirona's D. Jelizarovas coolly put the ball past B. Jawdai. 3 - 2. Clearly nervous from the start, Saffré's C. Mayeur took a long run up, but could only blast the ball over the bar. The score remains 3 - 2. Xirona's M. Trepák kept his cool as he faced down B. Jawdai. His composure paid off as he scored easily for 4 - 2. A badly laid penalty by Saffré's V. Lebosse was surrendered by G. Schaken, who took an equally bad dive, making the score 4 - 3. Xirona's G. Schaken made no mistake. B. Jawdai didn't have a chance. 5 - 3. Saffré's T. Bouvier appeared to lose his focus as he laid down an easy shot. G. Schaken's concentration wasn't any better however, as the ball passed him on the right for 5 - 4. Xirona's best player was D. Zabloudil. M. Trepák on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Saffré player was without a doubt W. Bernad. C. Mayeur was a disappointment, however. The match ends 5 - 4.