U21 World League

Kotetsi
Spectators: 7738 (Terracing: 5805, Seating: 1779, VIP seats: 154) Rank 1's Conny Vesterberg 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. Kyriakos Matsikidis showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Staffan Söderqwist in the 3rd minute of the match. Staffan Söderqwist charged in rather forcefully in the 9th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Staffan Söderqwist the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. A collision led to Rank 1 getting a freekick after 10 minutes play. Staffan Söderqwist hit a great ball. Kyriakos Matsikidis stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Conny Vesterberg's shot from short distance in the 11th minute. Staffan Söderqwist 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. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Spyros Papazoglou during the 22nd minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. After 22 played minutes Kolopetinitsa got a freekick which was hit by Spyros Papazoglou. After having played for 24 minutes, Gösta Beckman managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Rank 1's supporters crossed their fingers, but Gösta Beckman was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Kyriakos Matsikidis showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Conny Vesterberg in the 25th minute of the match. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Lambros Karpodinis in the 28th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Klas Ståhlberg saved Rank 1 from getting behind. When the match clock showed 28 minutes, the score became 1-1 when Lambros Karpodinis sped through Rank 1's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Klas Ståhlberg. Alexis Papadimoulis charged in rather forcefully in the 32nd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Alexis Papadimoulis the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 32nd match minute, Kolopetinitsa was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Alexis Papadimoulis to maneuver through the defense. After having played for 33 minutes, Gösta Beckman managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Rank 1's supporters crossed their fingers, but Gösta Beckman was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. 35 minutes into the match, Conny Vesterberg notched a goal, 1-2, to the right of Kolopetinitsa's Kyriakos Matsikidis. Kyriakos Matsikidis was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Kyriakos Matsikidis made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Conny Vesterberg in the 38th minute of play. Kyriakos Matsikidis took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Staffan Söderqwist, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After the first half Rank 1 were leading 1-3. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Lambros Karpodinis was the one to do the kick off. Conny Vesterberg received a nice pass, split the defenders, and ran untouched towards the goal. Kyriakos Matsikidis came out and tried to block the shot, but Conny Vesterberg slotted it home off the left post making it 1-4 in the 52nd minute. After a rather tough play, Kolopetinitsa's Alkis Athanasiou got a free kick in the 55th minute. When the match clock showed 57 minutes, the score became 1-5 when Dick Lindgren sped through Kolopetinitsa's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Kyriakos Matsikidis. A collision led to Kolopetinitsa getting a freekick after 61 minutes play. Alexis Papadimoulis hit a great ball. In the 61st minute the ball was on its way in behind Kolopetinitsa's goalkeeper Kyriakos Matsikidis, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Conny Vesterberg who was well placed in front of the goal fired away a dangerous shot that in the 67thth minute tested the skills of Kyriakos Matsikidis when he managed to save the team from getting behind. Rank 1's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Gösta Beckman in the 69th minute. After taking down the ball on Rank 1's corner Gösta Beckman fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Kyriakos Matsikidis quite easily take care of the ball. A collision led to Rank 1 getting a freekick after 71 minutes play. Dick Lindgren hit a great ball. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Lambros Karpodinis in the 75th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Klas Ståhlberg saved Rank 1 from getting behind. If Dick Lindgren had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 76th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. If Filippos Antoniou had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 83rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Dick Lindgren in the 85thth minute had a little luck and got a chance for a shot in front of the goal. Without hesitation aimed to the right of Kyriakos Matsikidis, who managed to lunge to the right direction and made a save. 85 minutes into the game, Dick Lindgren lined in a short shot 1-6 behind a frustrated Kyriakos Matsikidis. When the final whistle sounded Rank 1 left the ground with the victory after a much better performance than Kolopetinitsa.