Hironica 3 - 3 Raffo (381679304)

43354 spectators had come to Hironica Stadium this cloudy day. Vladimir Menten was the appointed referee with assistance provided by František Tuma and Marlo Linggi. A 4-5-1 alignment was the formation of choice for Hironica. They fielded: Vergnasco - Romani, Gomucio, Crowell, Araújo - Schiti, Mühlenbrücke, Ungureanu, Spinelli, Envangelista - Orella.

Raffo tactics involved an interesting 2-5-3 combination. The following players had been chosen: Tunjić - Laid, Dolk - Blaa, Kiss, Solyanov, Formenti, Mański - Amador, Cury, Pracki.

Hironica saw most attack opportunities on the wings. Today, Raffo's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks. Raffo took the lead after 4 minutes making the score 0 - 1. J. Kiss placed the ball out of reach for the home side's keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. After 7 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for J. Kiss who increased Raffo's lead to 0 - 2. At this point, it was obvious that the players of Raffo lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. Hironica's D. Orella cut towards the middle after 28 minutes, receiving a brilliant pass and slicing through the visiting team's central defence, reducing the lead to 1 - 2. Always quick and a menace to his opponents, D. Mański was very close to getting through after 39 minutes, but he could only put the ball into the keeper's arms. Halftime score was 1 - 2. Raffo enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 53 percent of possession.

Hironica's R. Envangelista had seen it all before, so he waited patiently for the right opportunity. He would get no better chance than the one he took, but his shot was deftly blocked by the keeper. After 66 minutes of play, A. Schiti equalised for Hironica after an elegant attack from the right. Slack defending gave Hironica a chance to take the lead with 73 minutes played, but R. Envangelista's cross from the left flank was fumbled in front of the goal and easily dealt with by the opposition. The referee showed Raffo's D. Amador the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Players in Raffo heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. After 79 minutes, D. Orella came in from the right, feinted, then sped past the off-balance defender to make the score 3 - 2, giving Hironica the lead. The visitors didn't give in and, after 81 minutes, J. Kiss got through the home side's central line of defence, rolling in the equaliser to make it 3 - 3. This third goal completed a hattrick for J. Kiss. Hironica were determined to attack on the wing and their central attempts were constantly abandoned in favour of the wings. There was concern in the stands when, at the 86 minute mark, Raffo's M. Formenti hit the ground hard, but he refused the attention of the trainer and rejoined his teammates on the pitch. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Raffo, with 53 percent of the ball.

D. Orella performed admirably for Hironica. M. Crowell was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Raffo player was without a doubt P. Pracki. However, A. Tunjić made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 3 - 3.