Avantul 1 - 4 Barcraiova (380780890)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 34752 at Laguna albastră today. Erwin Kleiber was the appointed referee with assistance provided by David Dyrhult and Cuono Cotugno. Avantul decided to use a 5-3-2 set up. Lineup: Bartoš - Sobkowicz, Ayroldi, Spronsen, Gritter, Lunga - Bulucea, Verde, Popa - Zülli, Gãman.

Barcraiova tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players took the field: Costin - Surugiu, Velázquez, Brudaru - Constantin, Herghelegiu, Pop, da Cruz, Stoica - Bulzoni, Ganea.

Underestimation of the opposition made Barcraiova players perform way below their normal capacity. For their match strategy, Avantul had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. The wings were the focus of most of Barcraiova's attacks today. 8 minutes of the match played, and a comedy of errors by the home side gave the visitors a chance at the lead, but M. Bulzoni, after finding himself dashing down on goal from the left with only the keeper to beat, sliced his shot horribly wide. Some good play on the left wing created an opportunity for the visitors 12 minutes into the match, and J. da Cruz wasn't about to let it go by. He got past the defenders and fired a shot that the keeper just missed. 0 - 1 for the visitors. With 19 minutes played, H. Brudaru nearly put the visitors another one up as he broke through in the middle and fired from just outside the box, but his shot passed just over the bar. Coming in from the right, Avantul had a good opportunity to convert on a counterattack after 29 minutes, but P. Zülli's attempt to finish was easily stopped. 0 - 1 was the halftime score. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Barcraiova, with 68 percent of the ball.

The lead for Barcraiova could unravel if the team did not start taking their opponents more seriously. The captain called a quick huddle before kick off to make sure everyone understood what was at stake. V. Bartoš got a fingertip on R. Constantin's shot from the left 53 minutes in, and managed to keep the visitors from going up another goal. 58 minutes in, Avantul's L. Ayroldi received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. After 62 minutes, Barcraiova sent a free kick in high over the penalty box. In what looked like a well-rehearsed move, the ball was headed backwards and reached V. Stoica, who had plenty of space to place a well aimed shot - 0 - 2. C. Ganea could have put his team up another goal 68 minutes into the game, after a rush down the left, but his closing shot hit the post. A drive down the left side allowed C. Ganea to get in close and score another goal for Barcraiova after 78 minutes, taking the score to 0 - 3. The players of Barcraiova now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. An accurate cross from D. Popa of Avantul was met with a wonderful glancing header from P. Zülli, hitting the inside base of the post before nestling into the back of the net for 1 - 3. A. Velázquez increased Barcraiova's lead to 1 - 4 with a superb free kick strike that flew in just under the far top corner. Possession in this half belonged to Barcraiova, who controlled the ball 76 percent of the time.

Avantul's best player was K. Spronsen. I. Bulucea on the other hand, had a terrible day. M. Bulzoni performed admirably for Barcraiova. On the other hand, H. Brudaru's play was disheartening. The match ends 1 - 4.