League

Manta
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Dragos Butuc took the kick off in the first half of the match. A collision led to FC Sheriff Tiraspol getting a freekick after 2 minutes play. Dragos Butuc hit a great ball. Pavlo Kotyuk made a fantastic save in the 3rd minute, when Iulian Bold sent off a good shot on target. Daniel Postolache sent away a hard shot on goal in the 5th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Daniel Postolache received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 11th minute. Pavlo Kotyuk tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Manta's Mircea Cotofanã played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Cristian Dudãu in the 13th minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in FC Sheriff Tiraspol's zone, Iulian Bold stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Pavlo Kotyuk came out of the goal and Iulian Bold tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 16th minute, Manta's Daniel Postolache ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Pavlo Kotyuk. Pavlo Kotyuk yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 2-0. After a rather tough play, Manta's Radu Cãldare got a free kick in the 19th minute. In the 21st minute, Iulian Bold left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Manta fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 3-0. When Dumitru Pânzaru fell near the penalty area in the 24th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Manta's protests and gave Dumitru Pânzaru a yellow card for diving instead. In the 24th minute, one of Manta:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for Manta. The referee gave FC Sheriff Tiraspol a penalty, 25 minutes into the game. The penalty shot was made by Ong Mathews, who made a well placed shot into the net to the right of Manta's Mircea Cotofanã. 3-1. Pavlo Kotyuk showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Daniel Postolache, who was totally free with the ball in the 40th minute. Mircea Cotofanã made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Dragos Butuc in the 41st minute of play. Pavlo Kotyuk made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Daniel Postolache in the 44th minute of play. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Dragos Butuc in the 46th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Mircea Cotofanã prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Mircea Cotofanã showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Cristian Dudãu in the 48th minute of the match. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 3-1 at half-time.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Iulian Bold to make the kick off. In the 54th minute, Iulian Bold made a precise shot to the right of Pavlo Kotyuk. FC Sheriff Tiraspol's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 4-1. Mircea Cotofanã didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Cristian Dudãu went, in the 62nd minute, to the upper right corner, 4-2 was the resulting score. Alexandru Vrânceanu charged in rather forcefully in the 65th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Alexandru Vrânceanu the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Alexandru Vrânceanu hit a great freekick 65 minutes into the match. In the 72nd minute of the match Ong Mathews shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Mircea Cotofanã showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. After 73 played minutes Manta got a freekick which was hit by Iulian Bold. After a rather tough play, FC Sheriff Tiraspol's Alexandru Vrânceanu got a free kick in the 78th minute. Daniel Postolache sent away a hard shot on goal in the 80th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. With a little luck, Manta's Mircea Cotofanã got control of the ball when Cristian Dudãu tried to sneak it across the goal line. Cristian Dudãu could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 83rd minute of the match, but Mircea Cotofanã made a huge save. In the 85th minute of the match Teodor Coadã shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Mircea Cotofanã showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. 87 minutes into the match, Cristian Dudãu had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Mircea Cotofanã. Manta's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Cristian Dudãu was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 4-3. If Daniel Postolache had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 90th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Dennis Bergkamp during the 93rd minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. Daniel Postolache shot from long distance after 94 played minutes, a shot that Pavlo Kotyuk with certain difficulty stopped from going in under the crossbar. After a defensive mix-up in FC Sheriff Tiraspol's zone, Iulian Bold stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Pavlo Kotyuk came out of the goal and Iulian Bold tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. There were very few away supporters still in the ground by the end of the match. Most of them had left early, disgusted by the way their team had been torn apart. Manta fully deserved thier win.