League

Saratica
Spectators: 7463 (Terracing: 5598, Seating: 1716, VIP seats: 149) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Horaţiu Sfârlea kicked off to start the match. In the 5th minute Corneliu Antohi shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Sergiu Ignea saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The Politehnica Timisoara fans' excitement grew in the 7th match minute when Politehnica Timisoara's Horaţiu Sfârlea looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 0-1 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. Iosif Balaban came out of the goal in the 11th minute to try and stop a shot by Unirea Alba Iulia's Petruț Zăgănescu. But to his dismay, Petruț Zăgănescu quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 1-1. The audience was convinced that Horaţiu Sfârlea's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Sergiu Ignea was relentless in the 17th minute of the game. Ciprian Oncescu, 20 minutes into the match, dribbled the ball up the side of the field and decided to take a long shot at the goal. Unfortunately, the ball was poorly hit and landed closer to the corner than to the goal. An unexpectedly hard shot by Petruț Zăgănescu in the 22nd minute of play forced Politehnica Timisoara's goalkeeper Iosif Balaban to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 24th match minute, Unirea Alba Iulia was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Teodor Zgondea to maneuver through the defense. In the 25th minute of the match Dragoş Buzgar shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Sergiu Ignea showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. After 28 played minutes Unirea Alba Iulia got a freekick which was hit by Emanuel Levițchi. In the 29th minute of the match Dragoş Buzgar sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Sergiu Ignea skillfully saved the ball. Sergiu Ignea made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Horaţiu Sfârlea in the 32nd minute of play. When Corneliu Antohi came up free with the goalie in the 33rd minute, the Politehnica Timisoara fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Corneliu Antohi couldn't finish the play. Rareș Paraschiv received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 36th minute. Iosif Balaban tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. When Rareș Paraschiv came up free with the goalie in the 39th minute, the Unirea Alba Iulia fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Rareș Paraschiv couldn't finish the play. The crowd rose to their feet as Unirea Alba Iulia's Petruț Zăgănescu slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Iosif Balaban. That made the score 2-1 after 40 minutes of play. When the referee blew for the end of the half the home team players were clearly happier, as they went in to the break leading 2-1.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Petruț Zăgănescu made a kick off. 53 minutes into the game, Octavian Dumitrana was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Politehnica Timisoara's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Unirea Alba Iulia the free kick. In the 53rd match minute, Politehnica Timisoara was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Octavian Dumitrana to maneuver through the defense. If Rareș Paraschiv had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 57th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Iosif Balaban showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Petruț Zăgănescu in the 60th minute of the match. In the 63rd minute, Petruț Zăgănescu ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Iosif Balaban was frozen by the shot and now it was 3-1. Sergiu Ignea made an important save on a dangerous shot by Corneliu Antohi in the 68th minute. 70 minutes into the match, Politehnica Timisoara's goal looked a bit too open when Rareș Paraschiv came free, but Iosif Balaban reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Corneliu Antohi might have been able to make a better finish in the 71st minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Sergiu Ignea. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Corneliu Antohi ran back to his position shaking his head. With his leg Sergiu Ignea managed to avoid a goal in the 73rdth minute, when Politehnica Timisoara's Corneliu Antohi fired away a shot with a lot of spin towards his right hand side. An unexpected shot in the 74th minute by Horaţiu Sfârlea got the crowd on their feet, but to their dismay it went out on the left side. Horaţiu Sfârlea sent away a hard shot on goal in the 76th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Ernest Dulca kicked well hit freekick during the 78th minute of the match. Iosif Balaban showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Ernest Dulca in the 87th minute of the match. After 91 minutes Politehnica Timisoara's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Iurie Plopan who took care of the corner kick. The corner led Unirea Alba Iulia's Iurie Plopan to fire away a dangerous shot which Iosif Balaban despite some difficulties managed to get hold on the ball. After some fancy dribbling in the 95th minute, Horaţiu Sfârlea managed to get in a good position for a shot. Politehnica Timisoara's supporters rose to their feet, but Horaţiu Sfârlea was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Sergiu Ignea breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. In the 96th minute, Ernest Dulca hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Unirea Alba Iulia were really happy, having secured the victory after a very even contest. They thanked the players of Politehnica Timisoara for a fine match.