Strigatul 1 - 3 STEAUA (380788827)

43903 punters turned up at Strigatul Arena, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came. Jesús Valladolid was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Barnabé Eychenne and Yogurtu Hecti. Strigatul tactics involved an interesting 5-3-2 combination. They fielded: Muntean - Calderón, Sechelea, Zerri, Medina Carvajal, Tomşa - Mihai, Popescu, Zaman - Ilie, Moldovan.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for STEAUA. The following players had been chosen: Dekleva - Bergen, Sandru, Pollerer - Voiţ, Zadina, Montells, Manea, Pupăză - Estornell, Muntanya.

For their match strategy, Strigatul had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. STEAUA immediately set off using their skill at pressing their opponents. With 6 minutes gone, a long pass from the defence of Strigatul resulted in a counterattack that set A. Popescu free through the middle, but the keeper made a spectacular diving save. Strigatul's opponents know to be wary of L. Moldovan's speed, but it made little difference as he flew past the defence 11 minutes into the game. Only the keeper could stop him - and he did with a perfectly timed dive! STEAUA's ability to press all over the field frequently paid dividends. With 25 minutes played, the visitors broke through on the right after some poor defending. S. Pupăză put the ball away for 0 - 1. The Strigatul players listened closely to their manager, as he gave new tactical instructions for the team. The Strigatul coach was desperate to reverse his team's fortunes in the game, and ordered his team to change strategy. C. Tomşa showed the skills that make him a real crowd pleaser as he, after 26 minutes, wove through the guests' entire central defence and put the 1 - 1 equaliser away. The teams went for the halftime break at 1 - 1. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by STEAUA, with 56 percent of the ball.

The terraces were silenced after 60 minutes when STEAUA's W. Zadina put the guests ahead 1 - 2, following an attack on the right. 74 minutes in, Strigatul's J. Calderón received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Strigatul mounted an inspired counterattack down the right wing after 79 minutes, but S. Zaman was unable to convert from short range. After 82 minutes, a mistake by the home side's left defence allowed À. Muntanya to get through. He outclassed the home side's keeper, adding another goal for the visitors. 1 - 3. Unhappy with the result so far in the game, the Strigatul manager used a brief break in play after 83 minutes to give the players new directives. After 83 minutes, Strigatul used a short break in the game to take new instructions from their coach. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, S. Pupăză got himself booked. The manager of STEAUA was not happy. STEAUA's talent at pressing frustrated the spectators as the game became a dire midfield struggle. STEAUA claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 52 percent.

The most dominating Strigatul player was without a doubt I. Ilie. On the other hand, D. Sechelea's play was disheartening. Most important STEAUA player was H. Bergen. However, I. Dekleva made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 1 - 3.