Challenge

RFK Stadium
Spectators: 49 (Terracing: 38, Seating: 11, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Cassius Byrne took the kick off in the first half of the match. Mugurel Gârniceanu was astounded when the referee showed him the red card after a seemingly innocent challenge, 4 minutes into the match. Mugurel Gârniceanu hit a great freekick 5 minutes into the match. With a little luck, Pinner Cluj-Napoca's Jalmari Mikkonen got control of the ball when Monty Rogers tried to sneak it across the goal line. 13 minutes into the match, Pinner Cluj-Napoca's goal looked a bit too open when Cassius Byrne came free, but Jalmari Mikkonen reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 14th minute Ionică Sava shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Marco Day saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Jalmari Mikkonen stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Monty Rogers's shot from short distance in the 22nd minute. Marco Day took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Petruț Mircescu, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After 27 minutes of play, Pinner Cluj-Napoca's Petruț Mircescu made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Marco Day was left in no man's land by his defense there! Jalmari Mikkonen made an important save on a dangerous shot by Cassius Byrne in the 30th minute. Jacob May could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 30th minute of the match, but Jalmari Mikkonen made a huge save. Ivan Ghiondea kicked well hit freekick during the 31st minute of the match. In the 33rd minute, Pinner Cluj-Napoca's goalie took a deep sigh of relief after Cassius Byrne fired away a hard shot that went just outside the left post. The audience cheered when Cassius Byrne's long shot passed Jalmari Mikkonen's right side. It was 1-1, 46 minutes into the match. The first half was very even, with the score at 1-1 when the whistle went for half-time. The players welcomed the break and quickly retired to the dressing rooms.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Ali Nurettin to make the kick off. Ionică Sava charged in rather forcefully in the 51st minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Ionică Sava the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Ionică Sava kicked well hit freekick during the 51st minute of the match. After having played for 52 minutes, Monty Rogers managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. USA's supporters crossed their fingers, but Monty Rogers was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. In the 56th minute Petruț Mircescu shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Marco Day saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Ali Nurettin in the 57th minute of play forced USA's goalkeeper Marco Day to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Ali Nurettin struck a weak shot in the 77th minute. Marco Day didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Pinner Cluj-Napoca. Pinner Cluj-Napoca's Emanuel Herlea was substituted for Cristian Gallo. USA made a substitution. Sam Campbell replaced Cassius Byrne. Pinner Cluj-Napoca made a substitution. Adam Vasilache replaced Matt De Ligt. USA's Marco Baker was substituted for Edward Mcdonald. Pinner Cluj-Napoca's Franco Vázquez was substituted for Adan Umea. Sam Campbell 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. Pinner Cluj-Napoca's Jalmari Mikkonen played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Sam Campbell in the 90th minute of play. After 93 minutes Pinner Cluj-Napoca's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Jenson Smith who took care of the corner kick. After 95 minutes, Emanuel Herlea mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Pinner Cluj-Napoca and the USA players grew even worse after the yellow card. Emanuel Herlea kicked well hit freekick during the 95th minute of the match. When Sam Campbell came up free with the goalie in the 96th minute, the USA 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 Sam Campbell couldn't finish the play. Despite being the better team, USA failed to find the winning goal and were forced to settle for a single point.