League Play-Off

Ion Oblemenco
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Valer Ghionea made the kick off which started today's match. The long shot by Panait Răuțchi in the 4th minute really tested Ernest Bondrea's skills. The ball was on its way into the goal to the left of him when he managed to stretch himself and save the shot and avoid a goal. The supporters of Liberty FC booed when S.S. Lazio Craiova was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 7 match minutes in a wonderful position. Ivan Oproiu didn't get a good kick on the ball. Manuel Baciu fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 13th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Octavian Manole having to interfere. In the 15th minute Răzvan Spirea shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Octavian Manole saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Octavian Manole took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Răzvan Spirea, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Alin Itoafă during the 18th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. In the 18th match minute, Liberty FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Alin Itoafă to maneuver through the defense. 29 minutes into the game, Valeriu Dijmărescu was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Liberty FC's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave S.S. Lazio Craiova the free kick. After a rather tough play, Liberty FC's Valeriu Dijmărescu got a free kick in the 29th minute. During the 31st minute of the match Alin Itoafă completely mistimed his tackle and brought down his opponent. The referee gave Alin Itoafă a yellow card, his second in the match, which meant he could no longer take part in the game. In the 32nd match minute, Liberty FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Alin Itoafă to maneuver through the defense. Dan Șerbulescu was probably a little too eager to shoot when he, in the 33rd played minute, shot the ball from way out. The shot was hard, but the ball flew wide of the goal. When the match had gone on for 35 minutes, Sandu Lopatnicu took a quick shot and it went in 1-0 without a chance for Ernest Bondrea to make any attempt to save it. Ernest Bondrea showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Valer Ghionea in the 46th minute of the match. After 48 played minutes Liberty FC got a freekick which was hit by Răzvan Spirea. S.S. Lazio Craiova's Dan Șerbulescu shoveled away a really nice long shot in the 49th minute of play. The shot was stopped by Ernest Bondrea but with some difficulty. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 1-0 at half-time.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Manuel Baciu was the one to do the kick off. After a rather tough play, S.S. Lazio Craiova's Bogdan Novacovici got a free kick in the 53rd minute. In the 54th minute of the match Mihail Lăzan sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Octavian Manole skillfully saved the ball. In the 56th play minute Manuel Baciu came free and shot an unsuspected shot which went into goal from the right pole behind a surprised Octavian Manole. 1-1. In the 61st minute, Sandu Lopatnicu got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. In the 64th minute, Manuel Baciu fired away a shot on goal. He put a little to much spin on the ball and sent it just wide of the right post. After a defensive mix-up in S.S. Lazio Craiova's zone, Valeriu Dijmărescu stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Octavian Manole came out of the goal and Valeriu Dijmărescu tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Manuel Baciu's shot when he came free in front of the goal in the 67thth minute, Octavian Manole skillfully showed off with a save to what seemed to be an obvious goal. Ernest Bondrea made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Valer Ghionea in the 69th minute of play. In the 69th minute, Răzvan Spirea hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Ernest Bondrea didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Sandu Lopatnicu went, in the 72nd minute, to the upper right corner, 2-1 was the resulting score. The supporters of Liberty FC booed when S.S. Lazio Craiova was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 77 match minutes in a wonderful position. Dan Șerbulescu didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 80th minute of the match Liberty FC got a corner. S.S. Lazio Craiova's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Mihail Lăzan ran over to the corner to take the kick. 80 minutes into the game, one of S.S. Lazio Craiova:s players got tackled near the goal, and the referee blew for a penalty. In the 82nd minute there was a penalty for Liberty FC. Mihail Lăzan stepped forward and shot the ball to the right of a diving Octavian Manole. 2-2. After having played for 89 minutes, Răzvan Spirea managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Liberty FC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Răzvan Spirea was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. After 91 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for S.S. Lazio Craiova! Ernest Bondrea made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Valer Ghionea in the 95th minute of play. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Cosmin Măgherușan during the 96th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. In the 96th match minute, Liberty FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Cosmin Măgherușan to maneuver through the defense. A collision led to Liberty FC getting a freekick after 97 minutes play. Valeriu Dijmărescu hit a great ball. In the 100th minute the ball was on its way in behind S.S. Lazio Craiova's goalkeeper Octavian Manole, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. The teams fought very hard right up to the final whistle. Both sets of players were happy to go away with a draw.