Official Cup

Nelson Road
Spectators: 170 (Terracing: 128, Seating: 39, VIP seats: 3) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Mugurel Apostolescu made the kick off which started today's match. Petre Baicea stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Lawrence Hopson's shot from short distance in the 5th minute. In the 7th minute, Brett Hull hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. If Brett Hull had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 9th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Emerson Whaley showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Mugurel Apostolescu, who was totally free with the ball in the 17th minute. Brett Hull kicked well hit freekick during the 19th minute of the match. Emerson Whaley showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Horaţiu Vermeşan in the 22nd minute of the match. AFC Richmond's Emerson Whaley played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Horaţiu Vermeşan in the 27th minute of play. Chadwick Hayes made in the 30th minute of the game a throw-in that took a bad bounce and was taken care of by Balavanis's Horaţiu Vermeşan. Horaţiu Vermeşan sent away a hard shot on goal in the 30th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Ciprian Pavel kicked well hit freekick during the 41st minute of the match. AFC Richmond's Emerson Whaley played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Mugurel Apostolescu in the 44th minute of play. After 45 minutes, Petruț Mironescu mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Balavanis and the AFC Richmond players grew even worse after the yellow card. 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 1-0.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Lawrence Hopson to make the kick off. Lawrence Hopson took the ball and in the 50 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Petre Baicea. Petre Baicea dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 2-0. Lawrence Hopson's late challenge caught a Balavanis's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Lawrence Hopson helped the player get up and apologised. In the 61st minute, Lawrence Hopson hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Emerson Whaley showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Gigi Văcăroiu, who was totally free with the ball in the 66th minute. Emerson Whaley stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Gigi Văcăroiu's shot from short distance in the 66th minute. In the 68th minute Balavanis were awarded a corner. Nae Groșan went to the cornerflag to take it. Emerson Whaley showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Horaţiu Vermeşan, who was totally free with the ball in the 72nd minute. Balavanis's Petre Baicea played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Erin Valencia in the 75th minute of play. The audience thought a goal was coming when Codrin Lăzărescu got free with Emerson Whaley in the 77th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Ciprian Pavel kicked well hit freekick during the 79th minute of the match. After some fancy dribbling in the 80th minute, Wallace Blum managed to get in a good position for a shot. AFC Richmond's supporters rose to their feet, but Wallace Blum was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Petre Baicea breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Emerson Whaley made an important save on a dangerous shot by Codrin Lăzărescu in the 83rd minute. Lawrence Hopson was shown his second yellow card after 85 minutes, following a rather ugly tackle on opponent. That was the end of his participation in the match. In the 90th minute, Flavius Ştefulescu hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Balavanis's players left the field with heads hung low after losing a match that had been finely balanced throughout.