Obligo 2 - 2 Diamantul (380865540)

A scorching day at Scena Obligo, where 13762 spectators were in place for today's match. Giorgio Macrì was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Otto Nigg and Thomas Børch. Obligo had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Ştefan - Bogoş, Cilindź, Schmalenbeck, Ţiclea - van Kan, Sinsheim, Marronaro, Donaldson - Bolboacă, Ereinuzqueta.

Diamantul tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. They fielded: Gobert - Ellefsen, Gedó, Sobreda, Podeanu - Krzykwa, Heeke, Johanneskirche, Špiler - Twomey, Magosi.

Obligo saw most attack opportunities on the wings. It was an obvious ambition of Diamantul to use their ability at attacking on the flanks. 40 minutes into the match, the visiting Diamantul made the score 0 - 1 after R. Johanneskirche executed a perfect free kick. Halftime score was 0 - 1. Possession in this half belonged to Diamantul, who controlled the ball 51 percent of the time.

The fierce heat made it important to save breath, and after a few swift runs D. Ţiclea found it hard to get back into position. It was obvious that Diamantul had instructions to attack on the wings instead of in the middle. The home crowd was not impressed when K. Ellefsen came in from the right, shooting hard to score after 59 minutes. Diamantul were now up 0 - 2. Against a lesser team, Diamantul could very well have succeeded with their smart indirect free kick routine after 62 minutes. A trio of passes took the ball all the way past the defenders, but by then the intended recipient was already blocked off and the keeper could make a leisurely save. Players in Obligo heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. It took several tries, but Obligo managed to break through on the left after 64 minutes, getting the ball to H. van Kan who easily reduced the lead to make the score 1 - 2. T. Magosi left the field with a smile on his face as he was substituted 64 minutes into the game, as his team was in the lead. H. Poulsen was the replacement. Content with how the game was proceeding, the Diamantul coach let V. Neira replace E. Heeke after 76 minutes. Diamantul's C. Podeanu was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 81 minutes. With the crowd on their feet chanting wildly, some great moves down the right hand side after 82 minutes gave Obligo a wonderful opportunity to level the score, and F. Bogoş stepped up to the challenge. 2 - 2 K. Schmalenbeck's technique was perfect on this sunny day and led to some breathtaking tricks that bamboozled the defence. Diamantul were determined to attack on the wing and their central attempts were constantly abandoned in favour of the wings. A counterattack by Diamantul after 88 minutes could have resulted in a goal, but R. Krzykwa, coming in on the left, couldn't get the shot off. Obligo claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 51 percent.

E. Bolboacă performed admirably for Obligo. A. Donaldson turned in a dismal performance, however. The most dominating Diamantul player was without a doubt K. Ellefsen. However, W. Gobert made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 2 - 2.