Challenge

Emil Alexandrescu
Spectators: 43 (Terracing: 33, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Daniel Zorita kicked off to start the match. Jan Trzenzalski might have been able to make a better finish in the 11th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Julio Vera. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Jan Trzenzalski ran back to his position shaking his head. Ecuador's Julio Vera played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Jan Trzenzalski in the 13th minute of play. In the 14th minute Politehnica Iasi were awarded a corner. David Cărtărescu went to the cornerflag to take it. A well-hit corner resulted in Florin Marioteanu heading the ball towards the goal, but to his dismay he misdirected it and missed the goal completely. In the 23rd minute Jan Trzenzalski shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Julio Vera saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Daniel Zorita recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 24th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. In the 28th minute, Cristian Sancho left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Ecuador fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-1. 30 minutes into the match, Politehnica Iasi's goal looked a bit too open when Agustín Saelices came free, but Emilian Feteanu reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Daniel Zorita in the 32nd minute of play forced Politehnica Iasi's goalkeeper Emilian Feteanu to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Julio Vera made a fantastic save in the 35th minute, when Jan Trzenzalski sent off a good shot on target. 40 minutes had been played when some careless play by Ecuador's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. David Cărtărescu was slow to take the kick. During this time Politehnica Iasi's players had a chance to rest. Politehnica Iasi's Jorginho Queiroz got a good chance for a goal in the 43rd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Julio Vera made an important save on a dangerous shot by Jorginho Queiroz in the 43rd minute. After the first half Ecuador were leading 0-1. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

The wind increased when Jan Trzenzalski made the kick off in the second half. An unexpectedly hard shot by Jan Trzenzalski in the 54th minute of play forced Ecuador's goalkeeper Julio Vera to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Julio Vera took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Tiberiu Dulgherescu, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. A collision led to Politehnica Iasi getting a freekick after 61 minutes play. Stelian Encioiu hit a great ball. If Cristian Sancho had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 62nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The audience thought a goal was coming when Daniel Zorita got free with Emilian Feteanu in the 63rd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Daniel Zorita recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 65th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. After 71 played minutes Ecuador got a freekick which was hit by Antonio Arias. Julio Vera stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Tiberiu Dulgherescu's shot from short distance in the 74th minute. If Daniel Zorita had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 77th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 80th minute, Tiberiu Dulgherescu ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Julio Vera was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-1. After a defensive mix-up in Politehnica Iasi's zone, Daniel Zorita stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Emilian Feteanu came out of the goal and Daniel Zorita tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After having played for 88 minutes, Cristian Sancho managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Ecuador's supporters crossed their fingers, but Cristian Sancho 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 93rd minute of the match Politehnica Iasi got a corner. Ecuador's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. David Cărtărescu ran over to the corner to take the kick. Ecuador were clearly unhappy with the draw, as they felt they had done enough to earn themselves a victory.