Friendly League

Dafiru
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Niculae Ivasiuc kicked off to start the match. In the 7th match minute, Harpurhey City was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Spike Sheene to maneuver through the defense. In the 9th minute Marin Chifu shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Dominik Jowsey saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by John Paul Pitts in the 14th minute of play forced Dafiru's goalkeeper Mihai Dobrica to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 15th minute of the match Harpurhey City got a corner. Dafiru's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Oliver Fenton ran over to the corner to take the kick. Garry Foster sent away a hard shot on goal in the 17th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. The crowd rose to their feet as Dafiru's Niculae Ivasiuc slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Dominik Jowsey. That made the score 1-1 after 21 minutes of play. Gez Reading scored 1-2 in the 24th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Mihai Dobrica, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. An unexpectedly hard shot by Pete Straker in the 27th minute of play forced Dafiru's goalkeeper Mihai Dobrica to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Mugur Gabrea received a nice pass, split the defenders, and ran untouched towards the goal. Dominik Jowsey came out and tried to block the shot, but Mugur Gabrea slotted it home off the left post making it 2-2 in the 29th minute. Sidney Straker hit a great freekick 31 minutes into the match. Dominik Jowsey made a fantastic save in the 32nd minute, when Mugur Gabrea sent off a good shot on target. A collision led to Harpurhey City getting a freekick after 37 minutes play. Sidney Straker hit a great ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Alin Marchiș in the 41st minute of play forced Harpurhey City's goalkeeper Dominik Jowsey to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 41st match minute, Harpurhey City was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Oliver Fenton to maneuver through the defense. 43 minutes into the match, Harpurhey City's goal looked a bit too open when Niculae Ivasiuc came free, but Dominik Jowsey reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 44 minutes into the match, Pete Straker had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Mihai Dobrica. Dafiru's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Pete Straker was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 2-3. John Paul Pitts fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 48th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Mihai Dobrica having to interfere. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 2-3 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

The wind increased when Pete Straker made the kick off in the second half. Harpurhey City's Dominik Jowsey played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Alin Marchiș in the 62nd minute of play. 63 minutes into the game, Pete Straker recieved a splendid long ball, split the defenders, and gently placed the ball to the left of Mihai Dobrica. Pete Straker showed that you don't have to tear a hole in the net to score, 2-4. The supporters of Harpurhey City booed when Dafiru was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 66 match minutes in a wonderful position. Mugur Gabrea didn't get a good kick on the ball. Mihai Dobrica came out of the goal in the 70th minute to try and stop a shot by Harpurhey City's Garry Foster. But to his dismay, Garry Foster quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 2-5. Pete Straker received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 73rd minute. Mihai Dobrica tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Mihai Dobrica showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Walter Tetley in the 75th minute of the match. Dominik Jowsey made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Alin Marchiș in the 83rd minute of play. In the 90th minute the ball was on its way in behind Dafiru's goalkeeper Mihai Dobrica, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Harpurhey City's John Paul Pitts got a good chance for a goal in the 92nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Walter Tetley's late challenge caught a Dafiru's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Walter Tetley helped the player get up and apologised. Walter Tetley kicked well hit freekick during the 94th minute of the match. Harpurhey City's Dominik Jowsey played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Marin Chifu in the 96th minute of play. When the match was over Harpurhey City could go home with a victory in their luggage, having controlled the game far better than Dafiru throughout the match.