Zampalesta 1 - 5 Hertha (393391799)

Clear skies welcomed the 1341 spectators who had made their way to Piccola Arena. Eloi Canella was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Jarolím Kuba and Gonzalo Válido. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Zampalesta. The following players had been chosen: Sperotto - Odar, Zabel, Kiram - Haj, Murrad, Cristani, Culcasi, Pilz - Manzoni, Trangoni.

Hertha started off with a 5-3-2 lineup. Lineup: Roett - Pires, Liehr, Halbheer, Dort, Lhomme - Yağmur, Ganz, Ripani - Licani, Bogdán.

Hertha were relying on their ability to counter-attack. The home crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief when L. Bogdán was unable to put the ball in the net after his show of skill down the left 4 minutes into the match. He was seen beating the pitch in frustration at missing such a good chance to give his team the lead! There was concern in the stands when, at the 10 minute mark, Zampalesta's R. Zabel hit the ground hard, but he refused the attention of the trainer and rejoined his teammates on the pitch. 17 minutes had elapsed when a great chance for Zampalesta to take the lead after a good cross from the right found A. Manzoni alone with the keeper, but he chipped it to the wrong side of the post. Hertha showed their counterattack skill 18 minutes into the match by breaking through the middle, with H. Dort scoring uncontested for 0 - 1. After 34 minutes Hertha's N. Ripani limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. The crowd was on its feet 37 minutes into the match, as Zampalesta's B. Culcasi found himself unmarked in front of the goal after a dash up the left side. He calmly put away the 1 - 1 equaliser. Some quick footwork on the left side of the field 39 minutes into the match left Hertha's M. Liehr completely free to score. 1 - 2 for the visitors. 1 - 2 was the score after the first half. Zampalesta claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 55 percent.

After 58 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for T. Ganz who increased Hertha's lead to 1 - 3. After 64 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave L. Halbheer a chance to increase the lead for Hertha, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 1 - 4. Confident in their lead, Hertha's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. 70 minutes into the match, the visitors put themselves ahead 1 - 5 as M. Liehr finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick. Possession in this half belonged to Zampalesta, who controlled the ball 54 percent of the time.

Most important Zampalesta player was A. Manzoni. F. Murrad turned in a dismal performance, however. The most dominating Hertha player was without a doubt M. Licani. T. Roett was a disappointment, however. The match ends 1 - 5.