BEFC knew well in advance that the game vs Zion would be a true test of their credentials as a Division 1 worthy club and the match didn't disappoint. Starting strongly BEFC went ahead with a slick passing move finished by Takahashi striking a blow in the TML Golden Boot race against his 2nd placed Zion rival Kawano. However soon Zion began to find their mojo, finally getting a somewhat fortunate equaliser also at the expense of BEFC's bad habit of pushing too far forward looking to kill the game off.
A quick half-time tactical switch brought in a more comfortable defensive platform to launch attacks, and wonderful display of pure determination saw Säkk put BEFC back into the lead. This followed with another great individual goal from Takahashi, who picked the right moment to bamboozle two Zion defenders, before cutting inside into a pocket of space for the angle to smash a shot inside the left post. To add even more drama in a heated match, Marenco got probably the fastest yellow card of the year for his reaction to a Zion defender standing on his hand. With the threat of substitution hovering, Marenco decided he better score a goal to compensate and finished the goal tally firing in a brilliant back post cut-back from impact substitute Alonso.

The game against Zion was a challenge as expected and one BEFC passed with a great show of team work with everyone playing the roles they had to, from on and off the bench, as BEFC needed to adjust strategies against a tricky opposition. At the end of the match there were strong contenders for Man of the Match, but especially in this match Kentaro Takahashi shone for his threat, teamplay, work-rate, unselfishness and moment of individual brilliance -- making the perfect balance you want in your key striker. Takahashi played a great team game as well as making a strong statement to his Golden Boot rival Kawano about who the boss is!

Therefore the Adecco BEFC Man of the Match versus Zion FC is Kentaro Takahashi!