League

Grivata Arena
Spectators: 9164 (Terracing: 6874, Seating: 2108, VIP seats: 182) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Dimitar Berbatov kicked off to start the match. The throw-in from Sava Chuchev in the 3rd minute of the game was unfortunally taken care of by Crusaders of Dark's Ildefonso Orlondo. 5 minutes into the match, Crusaders of Dark's Dimitar Berbatov sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Thomas Sørensen narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Dimitar Berbatov struck a weak shot in the 6th minute. Thomas Sørensen didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Crusaders of Dark. In the 8th minute, Dimitar Berbatov made a precise shot to the right of Thomas Sørensen. FC Grivata's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-1. In the 18th minute, Dimitar Berbatov ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Thomas Sørensen was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-2. Thanks to some nice moves Sava Chuchev could shoot a difficult shot in the 22nd minute, which Totyo Popisakov however easily saved by the left post. The audience thought a goal was coming when Eero Grönholm got free with Totyo Popisakov in the 23rd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Thomas Sørensen took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Dimitar Berbatov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Totyo Popisakov made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Eero Grönholm in the 27th minute of play. Crusaders of Dark's Totyo Popisakov proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 30th minute of the match, managed to save Crusaders of Dark from getting a goal against them. After a defensive mix-up in FC Grivata's zone, Eivind Lundemo stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Thomas Sørensen came out of the goal and Eivind Lundemo tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Milcho Zhalov's late challenge caught a Crusaders of Dark's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Milcho Zhalov helped the player get up and apologised. After a rather tough play, FC Grivata's Milcho Zhalov got a free kick in the 39th minute. Dimitar Berbatov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 40th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. In the 44th minute Øyvind Skoglund shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Totyo Popisakov saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After 45 played minutes FC Grivata got a freekick which was hit by Kristian Brolin. A collision led to Crusaders of Dark getting a freekick after 47 minutes play. Dochko Razpopov hit a great ball. The FC Grivata players were disheartened as they walked off the pitch after the first half. Crusaders of Dark were winning 1-2.

Crusaders of Dark's Dimitar Berbatov got a good chance for a goal in the 53rd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. The audience thought a goal was coming when Dimitar Berbatov got free with Thomas Sørensen in the 57th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Eligio Rojas charged in rather forcefully in the 60th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Eligio Rojas the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After a rather tough play, Crusaders of Dark's Eligio Rojas got a free kick in the 60th minute. Crusaders of Dark's attentive Viden Belovezhdov managed to snatch the ball when Kristian Brolin made a throw-in in the 62nd minute of the game. Dimitar Berbatov's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Thomas Sørensen read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 63rd minute of play. 68 minutes into the match, Crusaders of Dark's goal looked a bit too open when Eero Grönholm came free, but Totyo Popisakov reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Sava Chuchev in the 69th minute of play forced Crusaders of Dark's goalkeeper Totyo Popisakov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 71 minutes into the match, Crusaders of Dark's Dimitar Berbatov sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Thomas Sørensen narrowly saved just below the crossbar. 73 minutes into the game, Kristian Brolin threw the ball into play from the sideline. Crusaders of Dark's Viden Belovezhdov quickly snatched the ball and retained possesion. Crusaders of Dark's Totyo Popisakov played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Tzvetoslav Serdev in the 75th minute of play. Dimitar Berbatov's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Thomas Sørensen read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 76th minute of play. Kristian Brolin hit a great freekick 77 minutes into the match. FC Grivata's defense didn't have a chance, in the 78th minute, when Dimitar Berbatov scored to the left of an out of position Thomas Sørensen, making the score, 1-3. Totyo Popisakov made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Eero Grönholm in the 82nd minute of play. The audience was convinced that Eero Grönholm's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Totyo Popisakov was relentless in the 84th minute of the game. FC Grivata's Thomas Sørensen played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Dimitar Berbatov in the 88th minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in FC Grivata's zone, Dimitar Berbatov stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Thomas Sørensen came out of the goal and Dimitar Berbatov tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. The audience was convinced that Øyvind Skoglund's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Totyo Popisakov was relentless in the 95th minute of the game. Kristian Brolin's late challenge caught a Crusaders of Dark's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Kristian Brolin helped the player get up and apologised. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched Crusaders of Dark eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.