League

Clark Park
Spectators: 7525 (Terracing: 5625, Seating: 1750, VIP seats: 150) Cincinnati Strikers's Daren Atkinson started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Fletcher Jarvis struck a weak shot in the 3rd minute. Ross Aragon didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Cincinnati Strikers. If Ulysses Rosen had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 5th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After 8 minutes, Jacques Coppack mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Cincinnati Strikers and the Bennington players grew even worse after the yellow card. After a defensive mix-up in Bennington's zone, Daren Atkinson stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Ross Aragon came out of the goal and Daren Atkinson tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 13th minute, Boyd Strange got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Ezra Hawk sent away a hard shot on goal in the 17th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After some fancy dribbling in the 19th minute, Boyd Strange managed to get in a good position for a shot. Bennington's supporters rose to their feet, but Boyd Strange was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Alistair Acuna breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. In the 26thth minute of the game Ulysses Rosen who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Cincinnati Strikers's Alistair Acuna was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Boyd Strange sent away a hard shot on goal in the 27th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 29 minutes into the game, Ezra Hawk was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Cincinnati Strikers's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Bennington the free kick. Ezra Hawk hit a great freekick 29 minutes into the match. Alistair Acuna took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Boyd Strange, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Ulysses Rosen fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 35th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Alistair Acuna having to interfere. An unexpectedly hard shot by Ulysses Rosen in the 36th minute of play forced Cincinnati Strikers's goalkeeper Alistair Acuna to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Boyd Strange received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 39th minute. Alistair Acuna tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Ulysses Rosen to make the kick off. Boyd Strange received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 53rd minute. Alistair Acuna tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Ulysses Rosen fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 55th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Alistair Acuna having to interfere. The crowd rose to their feet as Bennington's Ulysses Rosen slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Alistair Acuna. That made the score 0-1 after 57 minutes of play. Alistair Acuna showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Ulysses Rosen in the 61st minute of the match. During the 61st minute of the match Ezra Hawk completely mistimed his tackle and brought down his opponent. The referee gave Ezra Hawk a yellow card, his second in the match, which meant he could no longer take part in the game. The supporters of Bennington booed when Cincinnati Strikers was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 63 match minutes in a wonderful position. Ezra Hawk didn't get a good kick on the ball. The audience thought a goal was coming when Giovanni Bingham got free with Alistair Acuna in the 76th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. After some fancy dribbling in the 79th minute, Fletcher Jarvis managed to get in a good position for a shot. Cincinnati Strikers's supporters rose to their feet, but Fletcher Jarvis was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Ross Aragon breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Boyd Strange recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 81st minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. 83 minutes into the match, Bennington's goal looked a bit too open when Fletcher Jarvis came free, but Ross Aragon reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 85th minute, Boyd Strange got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. When Giovanni Bingham came up free with the goalie in the 86th minute, the Bennington 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 Giovanni Bingham couldn't finish the play. Alistair Acuna made a fantastic save in the 92nd minute, when Boyd Strange sent off a good shot on target. Giovanni Bingham could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 94th minute of the match, but Alistair Acuna made a huge save. If Fletcher Jarvis had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 96th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead.