fighters 4 - 0 Rufus (393579850)

It had rained all day, but 873 hardy fans still made it out to F.C. PF fightersStadium. Ivas Kabačauskas was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Andrea Spagnolli and Giuliano Cuccurullo. A 4-4-2 alignment was the formation of choice for fighters. The following players had been chosen: Bărburaş - Pillín, Patapchyk, Geisenbrunn, Baggesen - Palacio, Leriche, Filippucci, Giura - Diego, Babayev.

Rufus started off with a 5-3-2 lineup. Starters: Suciu - Aldea, Disciullo, Bujor, Palágyi, Weiland - Găianu, Teodorescu, Pricopie - Horj, Bălulescu.

fighters mostly ignored the flanks in favour of their ability to attack in the middle. Making his way up the middle 15 minutes into the match, V. Patapchyk almost managed to squeeze a goal past the visitors' keeper, but the alert M. Suciu blocked it to keep the score level. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave N. Teodorescu from Rufus a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 17 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! S. Găianu of Rufus was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. T. Babayev gave fighters the lead as he successfully challenged the guests' central defenders, then slotted the ball into the bottom corner, giving the keeper no chance. 1 - 0 Unsportsmanlike behaviour by S. Găianu rendered him his second booking of the match, and Rufus had to finish the game with a reduced squad. Thighs bulging, T. Weiland charged past the weaker players, seemingly oblivious to the rain. K. Baggesen should probably have put his team up another goal after 40 minutes, but some great goalkeeping by M. Suciu kept the visitors in the game. With 41 minutes played, A. Geisenbrunn could have brought this one home for fighters as he charged up on the left, but his hooked ball went just a bit too high. 1 - 0 was the score after the first half. Possession in this half belonged to fighters, who controlled the ball 76 percent of the time.

fighters's M. Giura swung in a good chance from the left, but the visitors' defence were able to clear the ball. A speedy charge from the left side of the field increased the lead of fighters to 2 - 0 as K. Baggesen finished it off competently, firing in from an acute angle. Confident in their lead, fighters's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. A great save by keeper M. Suciu after 84 minutes kept the visitors in the game after C. Diego struck from the left with a real cannonball. Á. Palágyi behaved like an inexperienced youth player after 86 minutes as he gave the ball away to C. Diego. Lucky for him though, there was no goal. It was obvious that team fighters had instructions to attack in the middle instead of on the wings. Things were going to get worse for the visitors. M. Giura squirmed through their central defence after 87 minutes, increasing the lead to 3 - 0. After a short break after 87 minutes, fighters seemed to change their tactical approach a bit. After 88 minutes fighters's D. Bărburaş limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. After 88 minutes, a long pass from fighters's V. Patapchyk caught the defence out of position. C. Diego collected the ball, and with the goal at his mercy calmly rolled the ball just inside the post. 4 - 0. With 89 minutes played, fighters's P. Filippucci almost extended the lead, but his shot from the left glanced off the top of the bar to fall behind the net. T. Weiland of Rufus received a yellow card after 89 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. fighters had most of the ball, with 84 percent of possession.

The most dominating fighters player was without a doubt C. Diego. P. Filippucci was a disappointment, however. Rufus's top performer was clearly C. Horj. N. Bălulescu turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 4 - 0.