On the inaugural night of the Fintech Football Championship, the clash between Mastercard and Onfido took the title of game of the round.
A quiet first half saw Mastercard dominate the play with some slick passing and the mercurial Sergio Dhillon pulling the strings in midfield. Mastercard took an early lead and missed a host of chances, whilst Onfido looked a constant threat on the break, with the menacing Burak Eregar upfront.
The flashpoint of the game came just before half time, after the award of an innocuous free kick to Mastercard on the edge of the area. Dhillon took it and rattled the ball into the bottom corner, but the referee deemed he had been too quick off the mark and the goal was disallowed, much to the dismay of the Mastercard team and their travelling fans.
The beginning of the second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with the Mastercard team continuing to probe and missing a hatful of chances, before captain Baron Gracias stepped up with a second. Just when it looked like the game was running away from them, Onfido showed their character and pulled one back almost immediately.
The comeback looked to be short lived as a quick fire third for Mastercard seemed to have sealed the game. But Onfido, and Eregar in particular, had other ideas. With 5 minutes left Eregar strode forward from midfield to grab a second and create a nervy final few minutes.
With seconds left on the clock Eregar was at it again, rifling the ball into the bottom corner to grab an unlikely point for Onfido. Whilst Mastercard were left ruing a host of missed chances (and a disallowed goal) both teams will be hopeful that the point will be a good foundation on which to build a serious title challenge.
Final Score: Mastercard 3 vs 3 Onfido
Man of the Match: Burak Eregar
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