League Play-Off

Leningrad
Spectators: 38 (Terracing: 29, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Nikos Doulgeroglou got the match started through his kick off. After a defensive mix-up in Bambakarαdhika BC's zone, Fokas Dermitzakis stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Kostas Theofanidis came out of the goal and Fokas Dermitzakis tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Michalis Kortzidis did some fancy footwork in front of goal and succeeded to deceive the defenders so he could slam the ball in 1-0 to the left of a surprised Kostas Theofanidis 5 minutes into the match. Bambakarαdhika BC's defense didn't have a chance, in the 9th minute, when Ciriaco Piarres scored to the left of an out of position Kostas Theofanidis, making the score, 2-0. 13 minutes into the match, Ciriaco Piarres had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Kostas Theofanidis. Bambakarαdhika BC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Ciriaco Piarres was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 3-0. In the 16th minute, one of Bambakarαdhika BC:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for Bambakarαdhika BC. 21 minutes in the game, Michalis Kortzidis fired away an excellent shot, which passed to the side of the right post without Kostas Theofanidis having to interfere. Michalis Kortzidis received a nice pass, split the defenders, and ran untouched towards the goal. Kostas Theofanidis came out and tried to block the shot, but Michalis Kortzidis slotted it home off the left post making it 5-0 in the 22nd minute. Ntinos Villas's late challenge caught a Internationale's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Ntinos Villas helped the player get up and apologised. In the 44th minute, Giorgos Begnis hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Bambakarαdhika BC's Kostas Theofanidis played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Michalis Kortzidis in the 45th minute of play. With his leg Kostas Theofanidis managed to avoid a goal in the 47thth minute, when Internationale's Ciriaco Piarres fired away a shot with a lot of spin towards his right hand side. Af the end of the first half the score was 7-0. The first half had gone as expected for the home team.

With a couple of smart ball manuevers Michalis Kortzidis in the 52nd managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Kostas Theofanidis saved Bambakarαdhika BC from getting behind. Ciriaco Piarres might have been able to make a better finish in the 66th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Kostas Theofanidis. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Ciriaco Piarres ran back to his position shaking his head. Kostas Theofanidis made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Michalis Kortzidis in the 67th minute of play. In the 68th minute, Ciriaco Piarres ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Kostas Theofanidis was frozen by the shot and now it was 8-0. After a rather tough play, Internationale's Christos Theodorakos got a free kick in the 71st minute. In the 73rd minute, Ciriaco Piarres left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Internationale fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 9-0. 79 minutes into the game, Ciriaco Piarres cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 10-0. Kostas Theofanidis was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. A collision led to Bambakarαdhika BC getting a freekick after 82 minutes play. Themistoklis Chiotis hit a great ball. Kostas Theofanidis showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Ciriaco Piarres, who was totally free with the ball in the 89th minute. After some careless play in the Bambakarαdhika BC defense, Michalis Kortzidis kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Kostas Theofanidis. The Bambakarαdhika BC fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Kostas Theofanidis should have stopped the shot. Michalis Kortzidis fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 97th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Kostas Theofanidis having to interfere. Internationale walked away with a well-earned victory that was much celebrated by the crowd.