socceroos 7 – 0 alex

(209559047)
28-02-2009 14:10

8449 punters turned up at socceroo Arena, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came.
A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for socceroos. Lineup: Alcazaba - Marín Valle, Corneanu, Ezpeleta - Jespersson, Suokko, Caranza, Olofsson, Illescas - González, Kotinurmi.
A 4-4-2 alignment was the formation of choice for alex. Lineup: Soler Turmo - Fontauret, Guezala, Borrajo, Egurza - Balmaceda, Hughet, Neve, Corn - Maestro González, Perales.

Aapo Suokko came in from the right with the intention of giving socceroos the lead, but his rocket of a shot rattled the crossbar. 29 minutes into the match alex's Hipòlit Hughet viciously shoved another player from behind while going for a loose ball and was sent off the pitch with a red card. Some beautiful plays on the left side of the field resulted in a goal after 36 minutes by José Ezpeleta for socceroos, putting them ahead 1 - 0. socceroos put themselves up 2 - 0 when José Ezpeleta broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him. alex's Luis Miguel Perales left the field after 38 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was Javier Tradacete. Given a free kick at a sharp angle, socceroos went for a variation that loyal fans may recognize from training. A sideways passing move moved the defence out of position and let Kalle-Matti Kotinurmi slip through on goal. No hesitation - and it's 3 - 0, 39 minutes into the game. Many in the crowd felt the referee was being too lenient when he only showed socceroos's José Ezpeleta a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 39 minutes into the game. The alex player who had to be helped off the pitch, was Manuel Guezala as he was unable to finish the game. Miguel Iserna came in to finish the match. After an industrious effort down the middle, Dorel Corneanu could have closed the game off after 41 minutes, but his finishing shot hit the post. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, socceroos's Mats Jespersson got himself booked. 3 - 0 was the score after the first half. The forty-five minutes were dominated by socceroos, with an impressive 74 percent possession of the ball.

The socceroos players could smell victory in the air. José Ezpeleta wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for Humberto Oreste Pompei after 46 minutes. 46 minutes into the game, socceroos adjusted their style of play in order to conserve the lead. Things were deteriorating for the away team as socceroos scored another to make it 4 - 0 after a left side attack resulted in a goal for Serafín González after 47 minutes. By now, socceroos were drawing the troops back in order to defend their lead. Content with how the game was proceeding, the socceroos coach let Artur Pfaffenzeller replace Kalle-Matti Kotinurmi after 55 minutes. socceroos put themselves up 5 - 0 when Jonas Olofsson broke through on the right, leaving the entire defensive box behind him. 76 minutes into the match, the visitors' central line of defence had to look on as Dorel Corneanu dashed through, knocking home 6 - 0 for socceroos. socceroos had to make a substitution after 85 minutes. Aapo Suokko limped off the field and was replaced by Giuliano Bianchi. After 87 minutes, a couple of quick and successful challenges followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area by Dorel Corneanu might have resulted in another goal for socceroos. However, Rafael Soler Turmo made a spectacular save. Alejandro Fontauret of alex was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. A speedy charge from the left side of the field increased socceroos's lead to 7 - 0 as Agripino Caranza finished it off competently, firing from an acute angle. This half belonged to socceroos, who controlled the ball 77 percent of the time.

socceroos's best player was Jonas Olofsson. However, Humberto Oreste Pompei made a disastrous appearance. Javier Tradacete performed admirably for alex. Alejandro Fontauret on the other hand, had a terrible day.
The match ends 7 - 0.


Highlights
1 - 0
José Ezpeleta
36'
2 - 0
José Ezpeleta
37'
3 - 0
Kalle-Matti Kotinurmi
39'
4 - 0
Serafín González
47'
5 - 0
Jonas Olofsson
73'
6 - 0
Dorel Corneanu
76'
7 - 0
Agripino Caranza
89'