League

Banesa Arena
Spectators: 8180 (Terracing: 6137, Seating: 1881, VIP seats: 162) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Herbert Schutt got the match started through his kick off. In the 3rd minute Cazimir Ciulei shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Grigore Encuțu saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After 3 minutes, Vali Bujor mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Rapid Bãneasa and the English Fire players grew even worse after the yellow card. Vali Bujor kicked well hit freekick during the 3rd minute of the match. Grigore Encuțu showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Costică Nedelcu, who was totally free with the ball in the 5th minute. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Nae Hăvârneanu in the 7th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Grigore Encuțu saved Rapid Bãneasa from getting behind. Grigore Encuțu showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Nae Hăvârneanu in the 12th minute of the match. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Nae Hăvârneanu in the 12th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Grigore Encuțu saved Rapid Bãneasa from getting behind. Grigore Encuțu took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Nae Hăvârneanu, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Grigore Encuțu took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Nae Hăvârneanu, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Monico Dragomir during the 16th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. In the 16th match minute, English Fire was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Monico Dragomir to maneuver through the defense. Grigore Encuțu made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Nae Hăvârneanu in the 20th minute of play. Grigore Encuțu made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Cazimir Ciulei in the 21st minute of play. Vali Bujor struck a weak shot in the 22nd minute. Dragoş Puric didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Rapid Bãneasa. Grigore Encuțu made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Sven-Edvin Ahlroth in the 24th minute of play. Grigore Encuțu made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Monico Dragomir in the 25th minute of play. Grigore Encuțu showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Cazimir Ciulei in the 26th minute of the match. After 27 played minutes Rapid Bãneasa got a freekick which was hit by Damazy Szotek. English Fire's Costică Nedelcu couldn't find anyone to pass the ball to, so he shot a long shot towards the goal in the 28th minute. The shot went wide which resulted in a goal kick for Rapid Bãneasa. Grigore Encuțu showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Reinaldo Brasil, who was totally free with the ball in the 30th minute. Grigore Encuțu showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Nae Hăvârneanu, who was totally free with the ball in the 32nd minute. When English Fire's Sven-Edvin Ahlroth in the 33rd minute got a chance for a shot 33rd didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Rapid Bãneasa's goalie prevented a goal. Grigore Encuțu stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Monico Dragomir's shot from short distance in the 36th minute. In the 37th minute Nae Hăvârneanu shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Grigore Encuțu saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Dragoş Puric made an important save on a dangerous shot by Vali Bujor in the 38th minute. Grigore Encuțu showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Sven-Edvin Ahlroth, who was totally free with the ball in the 43rd minute. In the 44th minute, Nae Hăvârneanu made a precise shot to the right of Grigore Encuțu. Rapid Bãneasa's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-1. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 0-1.

English Fire made a substitution. Nunez Vincente replaced Sven-Edvin Ahlroth. After a rather tough play, Rapid Bãneasa's Herbert Schutt got a free kick in the 52nd minute. If Nunez Vincente had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 54th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Dragoş Puric made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Herbert Schutt in the 55th minute of play. After some fancy dribbling in the 57th minute, Cazimir Ciulei managed to get in a good position for a shot. English Fire's supporters rose to their feet, but Cazimir Ciulei was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Grigore Encuțu breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. The audience thought a goal was coming when Nunez Vincente got free with Grigore Encuțu in the 59th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Reinaldo Brasil kicked well hit freekick during the 60th minute of the match. English Fire's Dragoş Puric played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Irinel Vornicu in the 61st minute of play. After 63 played minutes English Fire got a freekick which was hit by Horia Enachescu. Dragoş Puric didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Mircea Casian went, in the 64th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-1 was the resulting score. Dragoş Puric made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Herbert Schutt in the 70th minute of play. Vali Prelipceanu made in the 73rd minute of the game a throw-in that took a bad bounce and was taken care of by Rapid Bãneasa's Vali Bujor. After a defensive mix-up in Rapid Bãneasa's zone, Reinaldo Brasil stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Grigore Encuțu came out of the goal and Reinaldo Brasil tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. The audience thought a goal was coming when Cazimir Ciulei got free with Grigore Encuțu in the 79th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Norbert Csányi was astounded when the referee showed him the red card after a seemingly innocent challenge, 81 minutes into the match. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 81st minute of the game. One of Rapid Bãneasa:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of English Fire:s goal. Rapid Bãneasa:s Grigore Encuțu showed great skill when he stopped Costică Nedelcu:s penalty. In the 89thth minute of the game Nae Hăvârneanu who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Rapid Bãneasa's Grigore Encuțu was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Herbert Schutt fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 97th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Dragoş Puric having to interfere. English Fire were disappointed that they only managed a draw, even though they felt themselves to be the better team.