M-Utd 1 - 3 Panterele (393860202)

Clouds darkened the skies at Militari Arena United as 1771 spectators turned up for the match. Triantafillos Rouvas was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Ruggiero Tarallo and Ron Azuri. M-Utd decided to use a 4-5-1 set up. The following players took the field: Hanuseac - Maykin, Mizgier, Złomańczuk, Thrane - Henţiu, Coţa, Santos Anjos, Harding, Silveanu - Speranza.

A 4-3-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Panterele. Lineup: Manole - Aalberts, Hamouche, Tranborn, Domokos - Castellan, Popescu, Romoli - Bolea, Balčiauskas, Negulescu.

Using their counter-attacking abilities was the strategy of choice for M-Utd. Panterele were mostly trying to use their skill at attacking on the flanks. After 14 minutes, there was a bit of a mixup on the field as Panterele found themselves out of position and their organisation level dropped to inadequate. The guests almost went up by a goal after 24 minutes when M. Aalberts came through and shot from the right. The ball bounced harmlessly off the post, though. 37 minutes into the game, Panterele seemed a little tentative in their play as their organization fell to weak. This was a good period for the visitors, with several opportunities to take the lead, particularly when M. Balčiauskas slipped through the defence on the right to come up alone against L. Hanuseac, but the home side's keeper showed his lightning reflexes. With 40 minutes gone, a long pass from the defence of M-Utd resulted in a counterattack that set V. Speranza free through the middle, but the keeper made a spectacular diving save. It might be a while before the fans see M-Utd's V. Santos Anjos again, after he had to leave the field in great distress at the 41 minute mark. He was replaced by M. Leo. M-Utd's C. Henţiu was shown a yellow card after 42 minutes for slicing down an opponent. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 0. Panterele had most of the ball, with 52 percent of possession.

The Panterele players spent the break getting a rerun of the team's tactical organisation and regained a passable organisation when the game started again. M-Utd's V. Speranza got himself booked for a foul. M. Bolea's fine footwork caused nothing but headaches for H. Thrane. The keeper wasn't fooled however, and confidently scooped up the ball. Panterele's goal to make the score 0 - 1 came via a questionable penalty, but C. Popescu struck it home without a second thought. The referee showed M-Utd's K. Mizgier the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. With 87 minutes gone, R. Silveanu suddenly found himself completely free on the right wing when a counterattack by M-Utd caught their opponents by surprise. Only a great save by the opposing keeper prevented him from scoring. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave C. Coţa from M-Utd a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 88 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! After 88 minutes, a mistake by the home side's left defence allowed T. Tranborn to get through. He outclassed the home side's keeper, adding another goal for the visitors. 0 - 2. 89 minutes had been played and the home team was awarded a penalty. The guests' keeper dived the right way, but H. Thrane was still able to reduce the score to 1 - 2. 89 minutes in, Panterele's M. Balčiauskas received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. An indecisive keeper looked on as a free kick by Panterele's C. Popescu put the visitors up 1 - 3 after 89 minutes. At this point, it was obvious that the players of Panterele lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. Panterele claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 59 percent.

M-Utd's top performer was clearly V. Speranza. C. Henţiu on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Panterele player was C. Popescu. However, D. Manole made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 1 - 3.