fc.astileu 0 - 8 Timisoara (380982100)

5186 punters turned up at fc.astileu Arena, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came. Angelo Lammertyn was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Steen Foged and Hurşit Yalman. fc.astileu tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. Starters: Cerciu - Avram, Olăroiu, Munteanu, Purcărescu - Dima, Apostu, Şuiugan, Găină - Apostol, Bucatoş.

Timisoara started off with a 4-4-2 lineup. They fielded: Drăghici - Neagovici, Hreniuc, Ferenţ, Racoţi - Sav, Butnăruş, Gârdu, Bukran - Săvoaia, Berter.

The guests took the lead 3 minutes into the match, after a right-side attack resulted in G. Săvoaia scoring to make it 0 - 1. 5 minutes into the game, M. Purcărescu had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came G. Bussy. I. Şuiugan was the new captain of fc.astileu - handed the armband by the departing player. Having been awarded a free kick in an awkward position after 23 minutes, Timisoara did not go for a shot but instead fired the ball hard into the 6 yard box. After a brief tussle with his marker, C. Berter was able to power the ball past the keeper to make the score 0 - 2. With 30 minutes played, seemingly due to lack of experience, G. Bussy needlessly tripped an opponent just outside the penalty area, but the free kick that followed didn't succeed. The visitors' C. Berter took advantage of a misunderstanding between the home side's goalie and centre backs 37 minutes into the match. 0 - 3 for Timisoara. 0 - 3 was the halftime score. Timisoara enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 63 percent of possession.

With 69 minutes played, a quick exchange of passes on the left wing freed G. Săvoaia of Timisoara to slip through the defence and score another goal for the visitors. That made the score 0 - 4. At this point, it was obvious that the players of Timisoara lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. 74 minutes in, Timisoara's E. Neagovici received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. A drive down the left side allowed A. Ferenţ to get in close and score another goal for Timisoara after 81 minutes, taking the score to 0 - 5. The Timisoara free kick 82 minutes into the match seemed wasted, as the shot was both short and off target. But was this actually a plan? The ball landed at the feet of D. Racoţi, who was completely unmarked in the box. That's 0 - 6! After 83 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave E. Neagovici a chance to increase the lead for Timisoara, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 0 - 7. After 86 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for L. Bukran who increased Timisoara's lead to 0 - 8. Timisoara had most of the ball, with 73 percent of possession.

A. Găină performed admirably for fc.astileu. C. Cerciu was a disappointment, however. Timisoara's best player was H. Sav. C. Drăghici turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 0 - 8.