JiulPetrosani 2 - 4 PUGNIS (380781358)

The weather was pretty good, and a crowd of 49152 had shown up at Petre Libardi for the match. Lech Jablonski was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Alex Barzewisch and Nikolay Slautin. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for JiulPetrosani. The following players had been chosen: Jamrozy - Zabos, Gheorghe, Koller - Švehlík, Davidescu, Ariton, Ayberk, Iovanovici - Gordon, Podgórni.

PUGNIS started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players took the field: Băsescu - Profir, Pleşea, Ţocu - Coşeru, Coltor, Necula, Constantin, Bugeac - Krucsai, Moldoveanu.

N. Jamrozy looked great 17 minutes into the match after stopping a shot from the middle of the penalty area from the visitors' P. Necula. JiulPetrosani's opponents know to be wary of O. Švehlík's speed, but it made little difference as he flew past the defence 21 minutes into the game. Only the keeper could stop him - and he did with a perfectly timed dive! After 23 minutes, PUGNIS's L. Krucsai made his way through the middle and nonchalantly placed the ball out of the keeper's reach, putting the visitors up 0 - 1. A drive down the left side allowed D. Bugeac to get in close and score another goal for PUGNIS after 29 minutes, taking the score to 0 - 2. The home side worked their way through the middle and almost got one back when D. Gordon tried to sneak the ball past the keeper. E. Băsescu was too alert for that! 0 - 2 was the halftime score. JiulPetrosani claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 52 percent.

The home team's supporters got excited again when S. Gheorghe broke through the visitors' central defence and caught their keeper off guard, making it 1 - 2. The cannonball from 35 metres by B. Podgórni of JiulPetrosani was an impressive sight, but didn't make it into the net. Still trailing on the score board, JiulPetrosani adjusted their tactics after 70 minutes. E. Koller had a quick chat at the side line, then switched positions with S. Gheorghe. Although the whole team were struggling to impress, JiulPetrosani's E. Koller was singled out as being the problem as he was called off the pitch after 71 minutes. F. Galatolo was given a chance to change things around. With 71 minutes played, PUGNIS put themselves up 1 - 3 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. The scorer was L. Krucsai. Confident in their lead, PUGNIS's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. The situation leading to JiulPetrosani's penalty 74 minutes into the match will be much debated after the game ends, but the competent O. Švehlík didn't hesitate to make the score 2 - 3. JiulPetrosani's A. Zabos was shown a yellow card after 85 minutes for slicing down an opponent. With 87 minutes played, a quick exchange of passes on the left wing freed S. Moldoveanu of PUGNIS to slip through the defence and score another goal for the visitors. That made the score 2 - 4. JiulPetrosani's B. Podgórni got himself booked for a foul. B. Podgórni charged down the left and looked sure to score for JiulPetrosani 88 minutes into the game, but his shot went just wide. JiulPetrosani needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 89 minutes D. Gordon made way for M. Łaziński. The bench was restless, and with 89 minutes passed JiulPetrosani's coach gave J. Garcia the opportunity the player had been hoping for. P. Davidescu reluctantly left the field. Possession in this half belonged to PUGNIS, who controlled the ball 57 percent of the time.

The most dominating JiulPetrosani player was without a doubt F. Ariton. J. Garcia was a disappointment, however. Most important PUGNIS player was L. Krucsai. E. Băsescu turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 2 - 4.