PETROLUL 0 - 3 JAF (380782460)

The 40188 fans in attendance at ILIE OANĂ were roasting in the hot sun. Anastasio Keuter was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Carmelo Paoni and Andy Ranzinger. PETROLUL started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Sorbara - Gülümser, Bleser, Hermida - Jannowitz, Furneaux, Rivera, Csonka, Hulsbosch - Sperber, Olteanu.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for JAF. They fielded: 晖勇 (Huiyong) - Mocciolo, Polat, Brejcha-Gschöpf - Tyma, Costache, Voiculescu, Stoenescu, Vizi - Tocha, Herlea.

PETROLUL saw most attack opportunities on the wings. K. Polat gave the visitors the lead 13 minutes into the match to make it 0 - 1. The goal was scored from the penalty spot after a handball in the penalty area. With the scoreboard showing that 25 minutes had been played, JAF nearly put themselves up another goal after A. Herlea came through on the left. Fortunately for the home crowd, the keeper made the save. After the ball was lifted in from the left, D. Voiculescu was on his own in the home side's penalty area and should have scored after 35 minutes, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration. It was 0 - 1 at the break. Possession in this half belonged to JAF, who controlled the ball 51 percent of the time.

A. Herlea of JAF seemed to be floating in the air as he elegantly headed in to make the score 0 - 2 after a corner kick that was nicely executed by K. Polat. PETROLUL's L. Hulsbosch had to watch the rest of the game from the sidelines, after twisting his ankle with 64 minutes having been played. G. Berlinger was the replacement. Some fine movement on the left led to a JAF goal after 71 minutes, making it 0 - 3. F. Stoenescu was noted down as the scorer. The players of JAF now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. F. Stoenescu was, after 73 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors' lead with a well placed diving header after the ball had looped into the centre, but the home side's keeper A. Sorbara made the save. After 75 minutes of game time, A. Herlea had an excellent opportunity to add to the visitors' lead, clipping a volley hooked in from the right, but A. Sorbara was in the right place and tipped the ball over for a corner. JAF claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 57 percent.

W. Furneaux performed admirably for PETROLUL. G. Olteanu was a disappointment, however. The most dominating JAF player was without a doubt A. Herlea. P. Tyma turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 0 - 3.