iepuresti 4 - 3 steaua03 (377303652)

The 29950 fans in attendance at fc iepuresti Arena were roasting in the hot sun. Arseniy Borovlev was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Jef Scheerlinck and Freddy van Ostaay. iepuresti started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Paţa - Słowiński, Gülsuyu, Heijman - van Hoek, Mezey, Verhaeren, Rico, Månsson - Selvig, Noah.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for steaua03. Lineup: van Oostveen - Nygård, Areda, Hyväri - Van Schoor, Thielen, Meireles, Bonora, Felius - Cubelli, Sáenz Ribas.

It was a hot and sunny day, and several players seemed worn out. Maybe this was why K. Hyväri found an unusual amount of space for his snappy footwork. iepuresti broke through on the left 16 minutes into the game, with A. Noah firing in from an acute angle to give the home side a 1 - 0 lead. With 23 minutes played, H. Słowiński could have brought this one home for iepuresti as he charged up on the left, but his hooked ball went just a bit too high. T. Van Schoor tied the game at 1 - 1 after 32 minutes, when he converted an incredible pass from the right. The teams went for the halftime break at 1 - 1. iepuresti had most of the ball, with 53 percent of possession.

With 54 minutes played, the visitors broke through on the right after some poor defending. F. Thielen put the ball away for 1 - 2. The crowd was on its feet 66 minutes into the match, as iepuresti's I. Selvig found himself unmarked in front of the goal after a dash up the left side. He calmly put away the 2 - 2 equaliser. steaua03's B. Cubelli startled M. Felius with an unexpected pass. Unfortunately, the receiver was too stunned by the play to convert the perfect setup into a goal. After some beautiful movement down the left wing, H. Słowiński scored for iepuresti putting them ahead 3 - 2, after 72 minutes. R. Bonora received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly 74 minutes into the match, probably out of lack of experience, and almost let an opponent score. The visitors' E. Areda was alert after a cross coming in from the left, levelling the score at 3 - 3 after 77 minutes. F. Sáenz Ribas found it hard to catch his breath today in the stifling heat. 82 minutes into the match and the home team took a 4 - 3 lead after breaking through on the left. The scorer for iepuresti was J. Verhaeren. T. Van Schoor of steaua03 was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. Neither team were able to dominate possession this half.

iepuresti's best player was A. Gülsuyu. V. Paţa on the other hand, had a terrible day. steaua03's top performer was clearly B. Cubelli. K. Hyväri turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 4 - 3.