Friendly League

Gamla Ullevi
Spectators: 39 (Terracing: 30, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Maxim Tsigalko got the match started through his kick off. Marcus Skytt's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Staffan Eckegren read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 3rd minute of play. Maxim Tsigalko struck a weak shot in the 3rd minute. Staffan Eckegren didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Samurai. An unexpectedly hard shot by Maxim Tsigalko in the 6th minute of play forced G A I S's goalkeeper Staffan Eckegren to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. G A I S's Washington Andrade quite brazenly broke a throw-in by Morgan Vassenius, made in the 11th minute of the game. In the 15th minute Maxim Tsigalko shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Staffan Eckegren saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 16th minute, Maxim Tsigalko left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Samurai fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-1. Thanks to some nice moves Matthias Bern could shoot a difficult shot in the 19th minute, which Vince Di Cola however easily saved by the left post. Allan Bivall sent away a hard shot on goal in the 21st minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Washington Andrade made in the 24th minute of the game a throw-in that took a bad bounce and was taken care of by Samurai's Jens-Ove Blomqvist. The audience thought a goal was coming when Matthias Bern got free with Vince Di Cola in the 30th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. 35 minutes into the match, G A I S's goal looked a bit too open when Hernán Grana came free, but Staffan Eckegren reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Allan Bivall took the ball and in the 39 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Staffan Eckegren. Staffan Eckegren dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 0-3. After a defensive mix-up in G A I S's zone, Maxim Tsigalko stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Staffan Eckegren came out of the goal and Maxim Tsigalko tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-3 lead.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Matthias Bern to make the kick off. G A I S's Staffan Eckegren proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 53rd minute of the match, managed to save G A I S from getting a goal against them. Staffan Eckegren took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Marcus Skytt, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Samurai's Wu Qi was substituted for Maxim Tsigalko. Samurai made a substitution. Åke Hamnberg replaced Hernán Grana. John Jernberg charged in rather forcefully in the 65th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed John Jernberg the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. The supporters of Samurai booed when G A I S was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 65 match minutes in a wonderful position. John Jernberg didn't get a good kick on the ball. Abram Cadabra hit a great freekick 74 minutes into the match. The audience thought a goal was coming when Timmy Henriksson got free with Staffan Eckegren in the 77th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Wu Qi sent away a hard shot on goal in the 85th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. G A I S's Staffan Eckegren proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 85th minute of the match, managed to save G A I S from getting a goal against them. Staffan Eckegren made an important save on a dangerous shot by Timmy Henriksson in the 86th minute. When Abram Cadabra came up free with the goalie in the 89th minute, the Samurai fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Abram Cadabra couldn't finish the play. With a little luck, G A I S's Staffan Eckegren got control of the ball when Wu Qi tried to sneak it across the goal line. Staffan Eckegren took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Allan Bivall, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The away crowd were delighted with the way their team had played and cheered loudly when the final whistle sounded. Samurai walked away with the win, even though the match was close until the end.