With English making their first appearance in First Division (they finished first overall in Second Division in 2008), it was interesting to see if the team in red could effectively use the same strengths they did last year when placed up against First Division rivals.  From the early going this indeed appeared to be the case.  Although perhaps the more communicative and co-operative of the two teams, in the early going it was Bosnia finding it difficult to penetrate the English defensive shell.  Nearly every attempt at offensive playmaking they made was met by an assertive if not aggressive clearing action by the English midfielders and defenders and the ball was sent rapidly up field.  With six new players on the field as compared to their team in the previous season, the English style of play appeared to have changed little.  The first shot was registered by English at about the 5 minute mark, and moments later they connected with an accurately placed header played directly from a corner kick taken from the left side.  At six minutes in it was 1-nil English.  Play in the midfield areas became slightly rougher after about the eight minute mark, with the referee working hard to whistle down various infractions from this point on.  English kept pressuring however, and with a fine burst of speed made by #3 (Red) on the right wing that outpaced a Bosnia defender, the ball was fed out in front of the net to #8 (Red) Kris Kewen, who made no mistake in converting.  At 13 minutes the score was 2-0 favouring the English.  Their was some action at the other end however, as a fast break by a Bosnia striker put the English keeper's ability to meet that type of threat and effectively cover up the ball to the test.  From this point on (and for the remainder of the first half) English maintained their ability to move the ball rapidly up field on nearly every occasion.  At approximately 25 minutes into the game English earned three successive corner kicks.  None were successful however, as Bosnia tightened up coverage in the goal zone.  At the 28 minute mark one of the Bosnia rushes did get through, and a shot that looked like a cross was taken across the goal mouth, beating the keeper, yet deflecting rather gently off the crossbar.  Shortly thereafter, with the intensity of play on the increase, an altercation occurred between several players on opposing sides with the end result of an English player being ejected from the game (red card).  From this point on English would have to play shorthanded, as one wondered if their aggressive style of play could be maintained through almost 60 more minutes of what was becoming fairly rough play.
The first half ended without further scoring, and the second began with a few noticeable changes on-field.  Bosnia came out with a much more determined mentality, while English made some significant changes up-front with the insertion of their speedy #11 (Red) at forward.  Bosnia spent the first part of the second half working their offensive playmaking, in the hope that they would be more successful in cracking the English defensive shell.  Indeed after 64 minutes of play Bosnia finally began to consistently show their speed.  At 69 minutes Bosnia had another near miss on the English net as the team in white continued to slowly gel.  Another shot off the crossbar was made at 79 minutes as the English defenders finally began to tire.  Effective English clearing efforts became more sporadic and their one striker who was kept up front wasn't quite able to mount a solid attack in 1 on 3 or 2 on 3 mode.  Bosnia kept working and pressuring and finally at 80 minutes they found the mesh with a fine shot placed into the top corner, beating the English keeper cleanly making it 2-1.  More back and forth play ensued, and with the closing whistle English maintained their advantage.  JHS