U23 League

Pildesti Arena
Spectators: 161 (Terracing: 121, Seating: 37, VIP seats: 3) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Liviu Zubaşcu started the match with the kick off. Martin Pădureanu charged in rather forcefully in the 7th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Martin Pădureanu the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. A collision led to Uptown Otters getting a freekick after 7 minutes play. Martin Pădureanu hit a great ball. After 8 played minutes, FC Steaua Pildesti's Augustin Nechifor shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper Aimilios Manolas came through and got his fingers on the ball before it flew over the goal line. He then quickly gripped the ball tighter before the forwards in FC Steaua Pildesti reached it. Octavian Bogdănescu took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Liviu Zubaşcu, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 10 minutes had been played when some careless play by FC Steaua Pildesti's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Liviu Zubaşcu was slow to take the kick. During this time Uptown Otters's players had a chance to rest. Martin Pădureanu kicked well hit freekick during the 17th minute of the match. FC Steaua Pildesti's Augustin Nechifor shoveled away a really nice long shot in the 18th minute of play. The shot was stopped by Aimilios Manolas but with some difficulty. Rolando Tearle hit a great freekick 22 minutes into the match. Virgil Dragalina kicked well hit freekick during the 24th minute of the match. After a rather tough play, FC Steaua Pildesti's Costin Iorgu got a free kick in the 26th minute. Traian Roşu could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 29th minute of the match, but Aimilios Manolas made a huge save. Aimilios Manolas took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Costin Iorgu, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After 36 minutes of play, FC Steaua Pildesti's Traian Roşu made it 1-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Aimilios Manolas was left in no man's land by his defense there! Liviu Zubaşcu's late challenge caught a FC Steaua Pildesti's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Liviu Zubaşcu helped the player get up and apologised. Liviu Zubaşcu hit a great freekick 45 minutes into the match. After some fancy dribbling in the 46th minute, Augustin Nechifor managed to get in a good position for a shot. FC Steaua Pildesti's supporters rose to their feet, but Augustin Nechifor was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Aimilios Manolas breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Af the end of the first half the score was 1-0. The first half had gone as expected for the home team.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Costin Iorgu stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Gheorghe Vlăsiu received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 53rd minute. Aimilios Manolas tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. 56 minutes into the match, Augustin Nechifor had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Aimilios Manolas. Uptown Otters's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Augustin Nechifor was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 2-0. FC Steaua Pildesti's Octavian Bogdănescu proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 63rd minute of the match, managed to save FC Steaua Pildesti from getting a goal against them. If Costin Iorgu had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 65th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Uptown Otters's Erasmo Oidor was substituted for Nico Rezende. Costin Iorgu fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 69th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Aimilios Manolas having to interfere. Erasmo Oidor sent away a hard shot on goal in the 73rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. FC Steaua Pildesti's Octavian Bogdănescu played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Liviu Zubaşcu in the 75th minute of play. When Staffan Bergman fell near the penalty area in the 81st minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Uptown Otters's protests and gave Staffan Bergman a yellow card for diving instead. The supporters of FC Steaua Pildesti booed when Uptown Otters was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 81 match minutes in a wonderful position. Staffan Bergman didn't get a good kick on the ball. After 82 minutes of play, FC Steaua Pildesti's Costin Iorgu made it 3-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Aimilios Manolas was left in no man's land by his defense there! In the 89th minute, Fabian Kaszubowski fired away a shot on goal. He put a little to much spin on the ball and sent it just wide of the right post. Uptown Otters's Martin Pădureanu got his second yellow card of the match in the 92nd minute. The referee ordered Martin Pădureanu off the ground. The supporters of FC Steaua Pildesti booed when Uptown Otters was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 93 match minutes in a wonderful position. Martin Pădureanu didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 94th minute of the match Augustin Nechifor sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Aimilios Manolas skillfully saved the ball. For all the effort they put into the match, the Uptown Otters players left disappointed. They had fought hard, but couldn't break down the home team's defense. The match ended in a win for FC Steaua Pildesti.