Review of Romania Casa Liga 2021/22 Season at the Winter Break

January 14, 2022

The Romania Casa Liga went into its mid-season break after the completion of round 21 on December 20^th, with the season recommencing on January 21^st, 2022. These diaries covered the first two weeks of the season in July, at which point champions CFR Cluj and newly promoted Rapid Bucharest were the only two sides to still have 100% records. At the other end of the table, four sides had lost their first two matches, namely Arges Pitesti, FC Voluntari, Academica Clinceni and CS Mioveni.

By the end of the year, the top of the standings had a fairly predictable look to it, with Cluj looking in a strong position to secure a fifth consecutive title, sitting 10 points clear of FCSB, last season’s runners-up. Third place Voluntari, who last season had to win a relegation play-off to stay in the division, lay a further ten points behind.

Any of the top 10 will retain realistic hopes of making the top 6, and the three sides below them could also make it if they have an inspired run of form from now to the end of the regular season. The system in Romania is that the top 6 after the regular 30 game season split to form the Play-Off round, in which the teams play each other twice for a further 10 matches, but only half of the points from the regular season are carried forward.

At the bottom, Academica Clinceni and Dinamo Bucharest have been cut adrift from the rest of the division. The bottom 10 sides in the league form the Play-Out round, in which the first two places ie 7^th and 8^th play a single match to determine who will proceed to another play-off match for a possible place in the Europa Conference. The bottom two sides are automatically relegated, whilst 13^th and 14^th face two legged play-offs against 3^rd and 4^th from Liga II

A brief club-by-club summary to-date :

Despite being well clear at the top of the table, CFR Cluj have hardly been dazzling, with their success being built around a defence that has conceded only 8 goals in 21 games. All 11 home games have been won, with only 4 goals conceded, two of which came in a 3-2 opening day win over U Craiova 1948. Ten matches have been won 1-0 !

Cluj started with six victories by a single goal margin before finally looking the part with a 4-1 hammering of FCSB in a monsoon. However, their next outing resulted in their first loss of the season, going down 0-1 at Botosani. After three more single goal victories, Cluj went down 0-2 at Rapid Bucharest. Subsequently, Cluj are on a run of 9 consecutive wins without conceding a goal. Veteran midfielder Ciprian Deac is the top scorer with 5, the same as ex-Marseille striker Billel Omrani.

Defenders Cristian Manea and Andrei Buca were part of the last national squad, together with forward Denis Alibec.

The coach is currently ex-Chelsea, Sheffield Wednesday, Bradford and Southampton defender Dan Petrescu, who was appointed at the end of August.

After a slow start FCSB, who claim the legacy of Steaua Bucharest, are on an unbeaten run of 14 games to become the only realistic challengers to Cluj. Despite an encouraging 4-1 win over Universitatea Craiova in round 2, FCSB’s early results included draws at Botosani ( 0-0 ) and Arad ( 1-1, with three substitutions in the 34^th minute and an equalizer in the 90^th minute ! ) and at home to Sepsi ( 1-1 ), as well as losses at Rapid ( 0-1 ) and Cluj ( 1-4 ). Since the defeat to Cluj only Voluntari and Sepsi have avoided defeat against FCSB, with both sides claiming 0-0 home draws. Nine of ten home matches have been won.

FCSB’s key player has been International midfielder Florian Tanase, who has grabbed 8 goals. Veteran national striker Claudiu Keseru signed from Ludogorets at the end of August but the talented Florinel Coman has only played 6 matches due to injury.

FC Voluntari only stayed in the Casa Liga by winning a relegation play-off last season, and after losing three of their opening 4 matches it looked like another tough season was in store. However, a run of 5 consecutive wins saw them move up the table, but after a blip of losses to Arges and Cluj, they ended the year with 7 games unbeaten. The double has been achieved over Farul, home draws recorded against FCSB and Universitatea Craiova, as well as at Botosani.

36 year old Slovak midfielder Adam Novak ( ex-Kaiserslautern, Genk and Union Berlin ) has proven to be an important signing after being released by Dinamo Bucharest. Moldovan midfielder Vadim Rata has scored 6 goals since signing from Chindia Targoviste, whilst Moldovan defender Igor Armas has started 20 matches.

FC Botosani have again been a difficult side to beat, with just one away defeat in 11 matches ( 1-3 to FCSB ) and with victories at Voluntari ( 1-0 ) and Universitatea Craiova ( 2-1 ), whilst at home Cluj were vanquished and FCSB, Voluntari and Universitatea Craiova held. Only 21 goals have been scored but just 19 conceded.  They entered the winter break with one win and 4 draws in their final 5 matches.

Botosani lost last season’s top scorer Hamidou Keyta to Portuguese side Santa Clara and Argentine attacking midfielder Jonathan Rodriguez moved to Cluj so goals were likely to be at a premium, but French midfielder Malcolm Edjouma, signed from Belgian side Roeselare, has netted 4 times. Keeper Eduard Pap, German defender Christopher Braun and Bogdan Racovitan have appeared in all 21 games.  

After a strong challenge last season before fading in the play-off round, CS Universitatea Craiova will be disappointed to be 25 points off the lead. They have already lost 7 matches ( Cluj A 0-1, FCSB H 2-3 A 1-4, Botosani H 1-2, Farul A 0-1, Arges A 2-3 & Arad A 0-1 ) , having lost only 4 in the regular season last year.

Last season’s top scorer, international midfielder Alexandru Cicaldau, left to join Galatasaray but despite this they are still he second highest scorers in the league. Andrei Ivan was the second highest scorer in the league with 10 goals and was recalled to the national side, together with defender Nicusor Bancu

Farul Constanta were formed following the merger of FC Viitorul Constanta and second level Farul Constanta, with the newly merged club taking Viitorul place in the league. Joint owner, Romanian football legend Gheorghe Hagi, took over the coaching duties. Farul started the season brightly, and after 10 round were in 3^rd place, with only two defeats, at Cluj and Chindia. Although strong at home, with only FCSB and Cluj leaving Constanta with all three points, moderate away form has held them back, possessing a 2-4-5 record. Spanish forward Jefte Betancor, signed in the summer from Voluntari, is the division’s top marksman on 11 goals.

Newly promoted Rapid Bucharest topped the league after two rounds and continued to impress in the first quarter of the season, taking 16 points from the first 6 matches including a 1-0 home victory over FCSB in a feisty derby. Despite defeats to Universitatea Craiova and Gaz Metan Media they sat in third place after nine rounds. Ironically, their only win in a run of 8 was a 2-0 triumph over leaders Cluj, and they finished the year with just one victory in the last 6. They had remained unbeaten in their first 8 away matches but slipped to defeat at Farul and FCSB in their final two trips. Striker Adrian Balan has found the net 6 times.

Arges Pitesti started the season poorly taking only one point from their first 4 outings, but a run of 7 matches without defeat saw them move up the table to harbor realistic hopes of a place in the Play-Off rounds. After round 16 they were just 4 points off third place even though they were 9^th. However, three losses and a draw in the last 4 games of 2022 resulted in the gap to 6^th increasing to 4 points. Their 5-2-4 away record is the fourth best in the division but goals have been a bit of a problem, with only 19 scored, and their top scorer, Christian Tanase, has only 3 goals.

In contrast UTA Arad, whose home match last season against Botosani was covered by these diaries, began the season regularly in the top 6, and were third after 7 games with just one loss ( 1-2 at Botosani ),  but finished the year with 4 draws and 4 losses. They have fairly identical home and away records, 3-4-3 at home and 3-5-3 away, but goals have been at a premium in their matches, scoring 17 times themselves and conceding just 15. Their highlights so far are probably the home wins over Voluntari ( 2-0 ) and Universitatea Craiova ( 1-0 ). Young striker David Miculescu is their top scorer on 6.

Sepsi OSK are the league’s draw kings, with 11 games finishing even, with 5 wins and 5 losses. Creditable draws were recorded at FCSB and Universitatea Craiova but disappointingly fixtures against Arges, Mioveni and Voluntari were home losses. Italian coach Cristiano Bergodi was appointed in early October, after having fallen to 14^th but they went into the break on the back of 4 wins and 4 draws from round 13 onwards. Centre-back and captain Bogdan Mitrea has 4 goals whilst Dutch forward, Kevin Luckassen, on loan from Kayserispor and previously with Ross County and Northampton Town, has 4.

Chindia Targoviste have spent most of the season in either 10^th or 11^th place. They had the second worst home record with just two victories and 5 losses, but a solid 3-4-4 away record has kept them out of trouble.  With a paltry 13 goals, they are the joint lowest scorers in the Liga 1. Daniel Popa had scored 4 times.

Newly promoted CS Mioveni have found scoring goals a problem, and like Chindia have only found the target 13 times. They started the season well, with 10 points from their opening 7 matches to reach the heights of 7^th but life has been harder since and took only three points from the next 8 matches before stopping the rot with a home win over Gaz Metan Medias ( 2-1 ), and three points from Dinamo in round 19 helped put more distance between them and the bottom two. Only 5 players have got their names on the scoresheet, with Bogdan Rusu scoring 7 of the 13 days.

After an opening day victory over Mioveni, Gaz Metan Medias have been in the bottom six virtually all season. Only one other home win was achieved, over Dinamo, and 7 home matches lost, but there were three successes on opposition soil, with Rapid, Arges and Chindia being beaten. Brazilian centre-back Yuri Matias tops their scoring charts with 4 goals.

Newly promoted FC U Craoiva 1948 are one of the two sides claiming to be the legitimate successor to the original Universitatea Craiova club which was dissolved in 1991. After bankruptcy, the club was reformed in 2017 and have risen from the fourth level of Romanian football to take their place in Casa Liga 1. They made a reasonable start, with two wins and two draws from their opening 7 matches. One point from the next 4 matches led to the sacking of coach Adrian Mutu after a 0-2 defeat in the derby with CS Universitatea Craiova. His replacement, Flavius Stoican, lasted less than a month and a mere three games before being shown the door. This led to the return of Eugen Trica, who had been sacked in May, and after five matches with just two points, they finished the year with a 3-0 win in Targoviste and a goal-less draw with Mioveni. However, they have failed to beat anyone outside of the bottom 6. Claudiu Balan is the top scorer with 5 goals.

Last season Dinamo Bucharest were engulfed with rumours of financial difficulties and non-payment of player’s salaries and perhaps as an indication of their money troubles, the Dinamo squad that started the season was entirely Romanian. A few foreigners have subsequently been signed as the season has progressed although that hasn’t led to improved results. Dinamo actually started the season with a 3-2 home victory over Voluntari, with Deian Sorescu claiming a hat-trick and won their third match, against Academica Clinceni, to go fourth. The next 15 matches yield just three draws until Chindia were overcome 1-0 in round 19. Two managers have been sacked already, and in the winter break Flavius Stoican was appointed after his brief sojourn in Craiova. Sorescu has scored 8 of their 15 goals.

After a 5^th placed finish last season and their match at Gaz Metan Medias being featured in these diaries, Academica Clinceni lost their first five matches and recorded a mere 4 draws from their opening 17 matches.  Having looked marooned at the bottom of the table, they then beat Dinamo Bucharest ( H 1-0 ), U Craiova ( A 2-1 ) and then drew with Voluntari ( H 0-0 ) to give some hope of survival, although a 0-1 home defeat to Chindia Targoviste deflated them a little. Last season’s top scorer Tsvetelin Chunchukov returned to Sepsi after a season on loan but ex-Estudiantes Argentinian midfielder Bautista Cascini has found the net 7 times this season.

Attendances

The season began with no restrictions on the number of people allowed inside stadiums, and a crowd of 35,500 attended the Rapid vs FCSB Bucharest derby. The atmosphere was described by Look Sport “as just like the old days !”.

Unfortunately, by the end of September, increases in Covid cases resulted in matches either being played behind closed doors or with significantly reduced numbers, and from mid-October onwards all matches were played without spectators.

Rapid had been the best supported side, with an average of 11,793 from the 7 matches where supporters were allowed to attend. FCSB had an average of 10,076 from 6 matches whilst Arad attracted an average of 7,729 over 7 matches. The overall average for the league was 4,202.

Romanian Cup

The Romanian Cup has reached the semi-final stage, with the four surviving teams being CS Universitatea Craiova, Sepsi OSK, FC Voluntari and Arges Pitesti. The draw is still to be made.

Cluj were eliminated at Universitatea Craiova, Botosani lost a penalty shoot-out at Arges and FCSB were unable to play their tie against FC Voluntari due to Covid and forfeited the match.

Rapid had been eliminated by second tier Politehnica Timisoara, Arad were knocked out at third division Filiasi and Academica Clinceni lost 0-1 at second division Buza.

Sepsi have won at Farul, FC U Craoiva 1948 and Chindia

European Campaigns

Champions CFR Cluj needed extra-time to overcome Bosnian side Borac Banja Luka in the First Qualifying round, after becoming the first side not to be eliminated on away goals since the rule change. Two far from convincing performance saw them get past Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar 4-1 on aggregate, but their luck ended in the next round, where they were eliminated 2-4 on aggregate by Young Boys Berne.

Matters didn’t improve in the Europa League qualifiers where a 0-4 drubbing to Red Star in Belgrade led to a 1-6 exit overall and the sacking of coach Marius Sumudica. The Europa Conference group stage was also a disaster, with 4 defeats in the first 5 games ( Jablonec A 0-1, AZ Alkmaar H 0-1 A 0-2, Randers A 1-2 ) before an academic 2-0 win over Jablonec in their final match.

All three Romanian sides in the Europa Conference exited at the first hurdle, FCSB falling to Shakhtar Karagandy after a penalty shoot-out after a 1-0 home win and a 1-2 loss in Kazakhstan. Similarly, Universitatea Craiova were eliminated by Albanian side FK Laci in their only tie, failing to overturn a 0-1 deficit from the first leg and Sepsi OSK lost a penalty shoot-out to Spartak Trnava after two dra

Round 22

Friday January 21, 2022

Arges Pitesti vs Dinamo Bucharest

Saturday January 22, 2022

Chindia Targoviste vs FC Voluntari

CS Universitatea vs Rapid Bucharest

Sunday January 23, 2022

CS Mioveni vs Academica Clinceni

UTA Arad vs Gaz Metan Medias

FCSB vs CFR Cluj

Monday January 24, 2022

FC Botosani vs Sepsi OSK

Farul Constanta vs F U Craiova 1948 

Review of Croatia 1.HNL 2021/22 Season at the Winter Break

January 8, 2022

These diaries last reported back on the season in Croatia after round 8 in mid-September, when Dinamo Zagreb, HNK Rijeka and Hajduk Spilt were all level on 16 points, although Hajduk had played a game more. NK Osijek were two points behind, with HNK Gorica a further point adrift in 5^th. At the bottom, newly promoted NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac had started to pick up points so that only 4 points separated the bottom 4 four sides.

Round 20 was completed on December 19^th, with the league scheduled to resume on January 28^th. All sides have played 20 matches, except for Hajduk and Dinamo, whose match in September was postponed due European commitments, and a date has still to be found for it to be played.

After many twists and turns, the table at the end of year still showed three sides to be level on points, with Dinamo and Rijeka now joined by Osijek on 40 points, albeit Dinamo had played a game less. Hajduk lay 5 points adrift, but a win in their catch-up game at home to Dinamo would put them back in the mix. At the bottom, NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac’s form deserted them, to be cut-off 11 points from their nearest rival and staring relegation in the face.

With the Hadjuk vs Dinamo match in round 9 postponed, the main action was Dragovoljac taking a 2-0 lead at home to Rijeka, but the title contenders came back to salvage a point. Osijek scored two late goals to come from behind to beat Gorica 3-2 and move clear at the top of table.

The top 4 all won in round 10, with the most dramatic game being between Gorica and Rijeka, where Gorica looked to have grabbed a 3-3 draw in the final minute, but Pavicic scored in added on time to give Rijeka the points.

Round 11 saw Osijek and Hajduk fight out a 1-1 draw, whilst Dinamo hammered Dragovoljac 8-0. Rijeka won the first set at Istra 6-3.

Round 12 saw the return meeting between Rijeka and Dinamo, and again Rijeka surged into a 3-0 lead only for Dinamo to fight back in the second half for another 3-3 draw. Elsewhere, Hajduk slumped to a 0-2 loss at Sibernik whilst Osijek’s 2-0 win at Slaven Belupo saw them move level with Rijeka at the top, albeit Dinamo had two games in hand.

Round 13 saw Dinamo surprising held at home by Istra, needing a late headed equaliser to earn a point, whilst Hadjuk lost further ground with a 0-0 draw at home to a  stubborn Gorica. Wins for Osijek and Rijeka saw them pull a little further clear at the top.

Round 14 saw the match between Rijeka and Osijek postponed due to Covid in the Osijek camp. Dinamo won in thick fog at Gorica to move back to joint top but with one less match played, whilst Hadjuk’s loss to Slaven saw them fall to 7 points off the lead and the sacking of Swedish coach Jens Gustafsson, which was shame if only because his post match interviews were in English !

Round 15 amazingly saw Dinamo lose the Zagreb derby, Lokomotiva winning 1-0 at home, although after falling behind in the 8^th minute Dinamo missed penalty and squandered several other chances. Lokomotiva moved to joint 5^th with Gorica, and with the other tops sides all winning Rijeka and Osijek remained joint top but Dinamo were now 3 points behind with a game in hand.

Round 16 saw more drama as Dinamo needed a goal 10 minutes from time,from Petkovic’s impressive header, to prevent Osijek from winning in the Maksimir, and Hadjuk scored two goals in the closing stages to stun Rijeka for a 3-2 away win, with ex-Brighton forward Jan Mlakar grabbing the winner in the 90^th minute with a brave close range header. Osijek now led the table ahead of Rijeka by one point, with Dinamo 4 points behind .

The top 4 all won in Round 17 but moving into December, round 18 saw improving Hadjuk sensationally turn-over Dinamo 2-0 in Zagreb thanks to an outstandingly skilful finish from Livaja, who then set-up an easy finish for Sahiti in added on time to send the massed ranks of travelling supporters home happy. 

This came after Dinamo had crashed out of the Croatian Cup in mid-week in a 1-3 home loss to Rijeka, which led to the resignation of coach Damir Krznar. Meanwhile, Osijek hung on grimly for a 1-1 draw at Gorica after Kleinheisler was shown a second yellow card early in the second half. Rijeka took over the leadership with a 4-1 home win over Dragovoljac, thanks to a hat-trick from Robert Muric, to head Osijek by 1 point with Dinamo now 5 points behind with a game in hand.

Rijeka and Osijek played their postponed match from round 14 in mid-week and drew 0-0 in a cagey encounter to extend the gap between them and Dinamo, but Rijeka’s time at the top only lasted one week at they then fell 1-2 at home to Gorica in round 19 after Prince Ampem saw red in the first half for two yellow cards. For Gorica, Lovric made a welcome return to scoring lists with a trademark 20 yard plus effort. Osijek moved back to the top following their 3-1 home win over Sibernik. Dinamo also won to stay in touch, but Hadjuk lost ground again with a 3-3 draw at Lokomotiva, despite two more goals from Mlakar, although these were cancelled out by fabulous own goals by Elez and Katic !

Dinamo played and won one of their games in hand, at Istra, and with another comfortable win at home to Dragovoljac they moved back to joint top as Osijek were held to goalless draw at Hajduk in front of 30,524, the highest attendance of the season. Osijek dominated and missed a penalty, Bohar’s twice taken penalty was superbly tipped onto the bar by Aston Villa loanee keeper Kalinic after Bohar’s first attempt had been chalked off for encroachment. Hajduk nearly stole the win near the end but Livaja’s shot from close range smacked the post.

With Ivana Martincic refereeing three matches in 1.HNL, Croatia became the fifth country in Europe to have matches in its top division controlled by a woman, after France, Ukraine, Wales and Czech Republic. Martincic also went onto referee the Germany vs Liechtenstein World Cup qualifier in November.

Club by Club Summary

A more detailed review of each club can be found in the preview to this season.

 https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2021/07/preview-croatia-1hnl-202122-season.html

Here are some comments on how the season has panned out so far for each side.

GNK Dinamo Zagreb have won the last 4 titles but have a real fight on their hands this season. They have won only one match out of 5 against the other top 4 sides ( 2-0 at Osijek ), and twice found themselves 0-3 down to Rijeka before commendably fighting back to claim 3-3 draws. They also drew at Osijek but lost at home to Hajduk.

They have struggled at times to overcome sides in bottom five, losing to Slaven Belupo 0-2 at home on the opening day and Lokomotiva 0-1 away, as well as being held to a 1-1 draw at home to Istra.

Three key players left the club early in the season, with Swiss International striker Mario Gavranovic joining Kayserispor, midfielder Lavro Majer joined Rennes, and Kosovan winger Liram Kastrati joined Legia Warsaw. Dinamo appear to have not adequately replaced them. Croatian internationals Mislav Orsic and Bruno Petkovic are the top scorers with 5 goals.

NK Osijek have lost only twice so far, at home to Dinamo and surprisingly at Istra, both 0-2, but are currently on an unbeaten run of 13 games. At home they have a 7-2-1 record, and 4-5-1 away. Against the other top 4 sides they have a 2-3-1 record, but been held to draws at Lokomotiva & Gorica and at home to Slaven. Winger Ivan Frolic is their top scorer with 4 goals, and 5 players have scored 3 times.

HNK Rijeka have disappointingly lost three times at home, including upsets by Lokomotiva and Gorica ( both 1-2 ) and also to Hajduk ( 2-3 ). In return they won at Hajduk ( 2-1 ) to have a 1-3-2 record against the top 4, having also lost 0-1 at Osijek. Swiss International Josip Drmic, on loan from Norwich, is the top scorer in the division with 14 goals, with ex-Ajax midfielder Robert Muric contributing 7 times.

HNK Hajduk Split’s inconsistency has let them down, but they are currently unbeaten in their last 6 matches. They have a 2-2-2 record against the other contenders, winning at both Dinamo and Rijeka, both lost at home to Osijek and Rijeka.

Outstanding midfielder Marko Livaja, back with Hajduk after signing from AEK Athens, has found the net 13 times, with Jan Mlakar on 6. Centre-back Nikola Katic has joined on loan from Glasgow Rangers. After Jens Gustafsson was sacked as coach, Hajduk appointed Lithuanian Valdas Dambrauskas, who had previously been coach at Bulgarian champions Ludogorets and Gorica in Croatia, but interestingly started his managerial career at Kingsbury London Tigers in the Spartan South Midlands League whilst studying in London !

HNK Gorica are the best of the rest in 5^th place. They have an impressive 6-1-3 away record but have been let down by their home form, where they have won only twice. Before the break they had been on a run of 5 consecutive draws, which was ended with a 2-3 home defeat to Sibernik. Mercurial winger Kristijan Lovric has scored 7 goals

NK Lokomotiva Zagreb have been strong opponents in their own stadium, with a 4-4-2 record, beating Dinamo and drawing with Hajduk ( twice ) and Osijek. They have also won at Rijeka. Hopes were high of a successful season after their first three matches were won, but only one point was taken from the next 5 matches. They went into the winter break with three draws and two losses in their last 5 matches. Marko Dabro has scored 8 goals.

HNK Sibenik are currently on a decent run with a 2-2-3 record in their last 7 matches. The highlights of their season are probably the wins over Hajduk and Gorica.  Marin Jakolis, on a season’s loan from Hajduk and with experience of playing in Belgium with Moskroen and Virton, has scored 10 goals, with Ivan Delic on 6. Spanish coach Mario Rosas was sacked on January 5^th.

NK Slaven Belupo have experienced the highs of winning at Dinamo, beating Hajduk and drawing at Osijek. They have also won two of their last three matches. On the other hand, they are the only side to have lost to Dragovoljac. Veteran Ivan Krstanovic is their top scorer with 6 goals

NK Istra 1961 have lost 6 of their last 7 matches, with the only points in this run coming from a victory of Dragovoljac. Their notable performances were the 2-0 home win over Osijek, a 1-1 draw at Dinamo and a 1-1 draw at Gorica. They have won 4 times at home, but also lost 6 home matches ! Hassane Bande, on loan from Ajax has scored 6 times, the same number as Dion Beljo.

NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac are rock bottom, having taken only 2 points from their last 11 games. At home they have managed to draw with Lokomotiva, Rijeka and Sibenik, and away from home won at Slaven Belupo and drew at Gorica. Majstorovic and Petkovic have scored three time.

Attendances

Hajduk are by far and away the best supported side in the country, with an average home crowd of 9,868. In addition to the 30,524 who saw their game against Osijek, they had 4 of the 6 highest attendances, with the other two matches being their games at Dinamo Zagreb, which attracted 9,914, and Rijeka, which drew 6,578. Dinamo’s visit to Rijeka drew an audience of 6,248.

Rijeka had the second best average with 3,031, followed by Dinamo with 2,287 then Osijek with 1,789.  Drogovoljac had the lowest average with 232, whilst the average for the league was 2,015.

Croatian Cup

The Quarter Finals of the Croatia FA Cup were played on December 1^st with the following results

Dinamo Zagreb 1-3 Rijeka

Osijek 0-0 Slaven Belupo ( Osijek won on penalties )

Lokomotiva Zagreb 3-6 Hajduk Split

Gorica 2-2 Istra ( Gorica won on penalties, after a 96^th minute equalizer from Lovric, the usual shot for 20+ yards )

The semi-finals are scheduled to be played on March 2^nd :

Rijeka vs Osijek

Hajduk vs Gorica

Europa League

After the last review by these diaries, Dinamo Zagreb were the only surviving Croatian side in European Competition, having reached the group stages of the Europa League. They started poorly, being outclassed at home by West Ham United ( 0-2 ) in front of a crowd of 12,344, before bouncing back to trounce Genk 3-0 in Belgium. A 1-2 set back to Rapid Wien in Austria looked to be major blow to their hopes of qualifying from the group, but they gained revenge over Rapid with a 3-1 win at home, and a 1-1 draw at home to Genk left qualification in their own hands, with a point needed from the final game at  West Ham, who had already secured qualification to the knock-out stages. As it happened, West Ham fielded a side that could best be described as “experimental”, and a fabulous 4^th minute strike from Orsic secured Dinamo’s progression and rendered Genk’s defeat in their final game with Rapid as academic.

Dinamo now face Sevilla in the last 32, with the first leg in Spain on February 17^th, with the return match in Zagreb a week later. 

Watching the Slovakia Fortuna Liga 2021/22 Season

January 2, 2022

The Slovakia Super Liga finished for its winter break on December 12^th, with the resumption due to commence on February 12^th, 2022. To date 19 rounds of matches have been played, with three more to be completed before the league has its mid-season split.

History

The Slovakia Super Liga was first competed for in 1993/94 following velvet divorce between the Czechs and Slovaks, and for sponsorship reasons is currently known as the Fortuna Liga.

Slovan Bratislava have been the dominant club over the history of the league, winning 11 titles and are the current holders. Slovan also won the Czechoslovak titles on 8 occasions. MSK Zilina have won 7 Slovak titles, with Kosice, Inter Bratislava, Trencin and Petrzalka each with two successes .

The Fortuna Liga is currently ranked 30^h by UEFA, below Poland and Kazakhstan but above Slovenia and Belarus.

My experience of matches in Slovakia stems from three matches in 1999. First, we had tickets for the Euro 2020 qualifier at the Telhene Pole Stadium in Bratislava between Slovakia and Romania. The 200 Slovak Crown ticket was the equivalent of just under 7 Euros.

With Slovakia outsiders to qualify, needing to win their last two group matches to reach Euro 2000, their hopes were crushed by an outstanding display from Romania, who not only won 5-1, but thanks to an inspired performance from Georghe Hagi, even the Slovak hooligans behind the goal memorably gave the Romanians a standing ovation as they left the field.

Local business contacts then enabled us to get grandstand tickets for the match between SS Koba Senec and Slovan Bratislava. Senec were in their first ever season at the top level, and we got several surprised looks as we took our seats in the tiny main stand which probably held no more than 300 seats, and the ground must have been close to 5,000 capacity. Our tickets for the best seats in ground cost 40 KCS ( £1.30 ).

Despite a whole hearted display from the home side, the experienced Slovan side, which included centre-back Stanislav Varga ( 52 caps ), who went on to play for Sunderland, Celtic, West Bromwich Albion and Burnley and was to be Slovan’s top scorer that season with 10 goals, went on to win the match 1-0. The Slovan side also included Robert Tomaschek, who went on to play for Hearts and win 52 caps.

My memory of the day is simply of how much time Varga had at the back for Slovan despite no obvious sign of any pace, and how he looked so much better than anyone else on the pitch. Senec no longer exist as a club, merging with DAC Dunajska Streda in 2008.

A week later we were able to attend a match between Inter Bratislava and MSK Zilina at the Pasienky Stadium, with fewer than 2,000 in attendance, which Inter comfortably won 2-0. The Inter side that night included Szilard Nemeth, who scored one of the goals, who went on to win 58 caps and play for Middlesborough, centre-back Roman Kratochvil who scored the other goal and went on to play for Denzlispor and win 36 caps, midfielder Marian Lilak, who went on to play for Panionios and Aris Limassol, and Peter Nemeth, who went on to win 22 caps and play for Eintracht Frankfurt.

For Zilina, Marek Mintal went on to be a legend at FC Nurnburg and won 45 caps for Slovakia.

Inter won the league that season by 9 points from Kosice, but have since suffered bankruptcy, and the fledgling new club are now in the process of working their way up from the lower leagues.

The National Side

Following the recent Nations League matches the national side were 42^nd in the FIFA world rankings, making them 24^th best in Europe, with their highest ranking was 14^th in August 2015.

19 Slovaks have appeared in the English Premier League, with the most prominent being centre-back Martin Skrtel ( Liverpool ), centre-back Stanislav Varga (ex-Sunderland, Celtic, West Bromwich Albion and Burnley), striker Szilard Nemeth ( Middlesborough ), left back Vladimir Labant ( West Ham ),  keeper Martin Dubravska ( Newcastle ), winger Vladimir Weiss ( Manchester City ), keeper Marek Rodak ( Fulham ), midfielder Lubomir Michalik ( Bolton, Leeds & Portsmouth ) & left back Marek Cech ( WBA ).

League Structure

The Slovakia Super Liga consists of 12 sides who play each other twice for a 22 regular game season. At this point the top 6 split into the Championship Group for 10 more matches, whilst the bottom 6 similarly form the Relegation Group.

The Champions qualify for the Champions League First Qualifying Round, whilst the runner-up enters the Europa Conference Second Qualifying League. Slovakia’s two other entrants to the Europa Conference will be the winners of the Slovak Cup and the winner of a play-off competition. If the side winning in Slovak Cup finish in the top three, then the final place goes to the winner of the play-off between 4,5 & 6 in the Championship plus the side topping the relegation group

The bottom side are automatically relegated, whilst 11^th plays a two-legged play-off against the side finishing second in 2.liga.

Last Season

Slovan Bratisalva won their third consecutive title, finishing 6 points clear of DAC Dunajska Streda. These two were by some distance the strongest sides in the Super Liga, with Spartak Trnava finishing a further 10 points behind in third place. Zilina were three further points behind, but 12 points clear of fifth placed Zlate Moravce, so deservedly were winners of the Europa League Conference play-offs to take the final place in Europa.

Slovan were also winners of the Slovak Cup, beating Zilina 2-1 after extra time in the final, to achieve the double for the second year running.

Attendances

DAC Dunajska Streda currently have the best home average with 4,059 per game, with Slovan next with 2,287 then Spartak Trnava on 1,515. Sered have the lowest with 145.  Sered’s attendances are not help by having to play their matches at Trnava, which is around 15 kilometres from Sered.

These statistics are understated though, as from early November matches have either been played in front of very limited attendances, or behind closed doors. In 2019/20 the average at Dunajska Streda was 7,899, Slovan averaged 6,114 and Spartak 3,695.

The highest official attendance so far this season was 7,144 for DAC vs Slovan in September although the attendance for the abandoned Spartak Trnava vs Slovan would probably have been higher ( see below ).

How To Watch

Since late October, live streams of matches from the Slovakia Super Liga are now shown on onefootball.com. Highlights of each match can be viewed on the league website www.fortunaliga.sk. Nine of the Super Liga clubs also post match highlights on their YouTube channels, the exceptions being ViON Zlate Moravce, Tatran Liptovsky Mikulas, & Zemplin Michalovce.

The Season So Far

The table at the winter break after 19 games shows Slovan Bratislava to be leading Spartak Trnava by four points, but the story has been a lot more intriguing.

After 10 rounds of fixtures, Slovan and Spartak were level on points, and the visit of Slovan to Spartak in round 11 generated huge interest and expectations, with Spartak looking to be genuine candidates for a title they have never won. Unfortunately, external events took over, and in front of a near capacity attendance, crowd trouble started after 15 minutes during a break in play for an injury when some flares were thrown onto the pitch from the Slovan enclosure. In response some fans from the sector closest to the Slovan fans, allegedly trouble makers from other clubs, spilled onto the pitch and started throwing the flares back at the Slovan fans. Matters were not helped by some fans from the Spartak end at the other end of the pitch streaming onto the pitch but it all seemed relatively trival.

There been some criticism on the internet of the role played by the Slovak Police, who failed to deal with the situation, commenting that had this happened on the streets they would have ruthlessly dealt with the trouble makers.

As it happened, Slovan apparently refused to continue to play and the referee had little option other than to abandon the match.

No-one seems to be come out well from the whole situation, but to the surprise of many the Slovak FA awarded the game to Slovan by a 3-0 default margin. Although Spartak were perhaps guilty of not adequately controlling the ground, the initial cause of the trouble was generated by the behaviour of the Slovan supporters, so the decision has created a potentially dangerous precedent in getting results awarded in your favour.

SK Slovan Bratislava begun the season with 5 straight wins before being held 1-1 at Dunajska Stedea and were then held 2-2 at home by Zilina, and then fell to a 0-1 loss at Ruzemberok thanks to a goal in the last minute. Including the awarded victory over Spartak, Slovan then embarked on a run of 9 consecutive victories, before being held to draws in their last two matches before the interval, again being held by Dunajska Streda ( 0-0 at home ) and Zilina ( 1-1 away ).

Ex-Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday winger Andre Green has appeared 14 times this season for Slovan, scoring once. Czech International winger Jaromir Zmrhal joined in the summer from Brescia and has scored 7 times, although their top scorer is Nigerian striker Ezekiel Henty with 9 goals. Argentine born left-back Vernon de Marco was the only Super Liga player selected in the most recent Slovakia national squad.

Slovan have also taken steps to strengthen their squad for the second half of the season, with the signing of experienced Armenian midfielder Tigran Barseghyan from Kazakh side FC Astana.

FC Spartak Trnava slid to an unexpected defeat in their second match, conceding two goals in the last two minutes to go down 1-2 at Senica, and although they subsequently played out a 0-0 draw in Ruzemberok and were held by Zilina 1-1 at home, they had pulled level with Slovan after round 8. They responded to the default loss with three more wins before surprisingly being held to a scoreless draw at ViON Zlate Moravce before falling to a poor 0-3 home defeat to Ruzemberok. However, three wins in their final three matches put them back in reach of Slovan.

Ex-Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel joined in the summer and North Macedonian International Milan Ristovski striker has scored 7 times.

MFK Ruzemberok have had an impressive season to date, with just two defeats in 19 games, at home to Dunajska Streda in September ( 1-2 ) and at Slovan in November ( 0-1 ). After a slow start, with 5 draws in their first six games, after the loss to DAC they won eight and drew one of their next 10 matches, but two draws in the final two matches prevented them from getting closer to the top 2.

Apart from North Macedonian midfielder Tihomir Kostadinov, the rest of the Ruzemberok squad were Slovak, but Kostadinov has since signed for Polish side Piast Gliwice during the break. Midfielder Martin Regali topped their scoring charts with 7 goals

After their strong performance last season, DAC Dunajska Streda ( which loosely translates as Danube Wednesday ! ) have been disappointing in the first half of the season, with 5 losses on their card. Their form has been inconsistent, starting with an opening day 1-4 loss at Zemplin Michalovce, a 0-1 defeat at Sered in round 3, with the other defeats coming at the hand of newly promoted Liptovsky Mikulas ( 0-1 ) and again to Sered ( 1-3 at home ). The other defeat came at home to Spartak ( 0-3 ). On the other hand, they have drawn twice with Slovan, taken 4 points from Ruzemberok and won at Zilina. They are currently on an unbeaten run of 5 matches.

Cameroon International striker Lamkel Ze joined on loan from Antwerp and has scored twice in 7 games, ex Stoke and Bolton Belgian winger Thibaut Verlinden has played in 6 matches, and Latvian International midfielder Andrejs Ciganjiks has appeared in every game. DAC also have ex-Vitebsk Moldovan goal-machine Ion Nicolaescu, who is yet to score this season in 8 appearances, mostly from the bench. DAC are perhaps also the only European side with two Panama internationals, namely left back Eric Davis ( 66 caps ) and right-back Cesar Blackman ( 4 caps ).

MSK Zilina lie a further 5 points adrift of DAC, and started the season with 4 wins from their first 5 games to lead the table, but then went on a run of 7 games without a win. They have now lost just one match in the final 6 before the break. The highlights of their season are probably the two draws with Slovan ( despite an own goal of the season by Nemcik in the game at Slovan ) and a draw at Spartak. Armenian attacking midfielder Vahan Bichakhchyan has scored 6 times.

Four sides are in close competition for the final place in the Championship Group, with just 4 points separating 4 sides with three game remaining.

After surviving last season via the relegation play-off, very few people would have expected FK Senica to be sitting in a Championship group place after 19 matches. Starting with a tricky looking start to the season, they manage to beat Spartak and draw with Ruzemberok, Zlate Moravce and Dunajska Streda in their first 4 matches, and after a heavy loss at Zilina, rebounded to overcome Liptovsky Mikulas and Pohronie to be 5^th after 7 games. A mini slump of one point from 7 games followed, but 10 points from their last 4 matches saw them climb back up to 6^th.

Congolese striker Elvis Mashike, ex Slovan Liberec and Viktoria Zizkov scored 7 goals but has since signed for Zilina. Ex-Millwall Canadian international winger Kris Twardek has also re-signed for Irish side Bohemians in the winter break after playing for them in 2020.

After a poor start SKF Sered have steadily been improving and progressing up the table. Despite upsetting Dunajska Streda with a 1-0 home win in round 3, moderate form saw them down in 9^th place after 13 games, but three wins and a draw in the final 6 games before the break saw them climb to 7^th, one point off the Championship Group, which could have been better had they taken more than one point from the final two matches.

FK Zemplin Michalovce, located in eastern Slovakia and close to the border with Ukraine, have been slowly sliding down the table after a peak of 4^th place after round 10, losing 6 of their last 8 matches although they did finish the year with a 1-0 with at Zlate Moravce. Hopes must have been high after thumping Dunajska Streda, last season’s runners-up, 4-1 on the opening day but the next three matches were lost. Three wins on the trot in late September/early October saw them rise to 4^th.  Matej Trusa has scored 6 times.

AS Trencin are in free-fall having lost their last 5 matches, and 8 of their last 10. This came after a strong start where they lost only one of their first 9 games, to Slovan, to be in third place. However, 21 year old midfielder and captain Jakub Kadak is the joint highest scorer in the league with 9 goals  

The bottom three are already mathematically assured of being in the relegation group. Newly promoted FK Tatran Liptovsky Mikulas, who play in northern Slovakia,  lost 6 of the opening 7 matches, with just a win over Zilina ( 2-1 ) to show for their efforts. However, they have gradually stablised at this level, and further wins came over Pohronie, Trencin and more impressively over Dunajska Streda. They are now though 6 games without a win, although that does include 3 draws.

They have a respectable 4-1-4 home record, but their 0-3-7 away form is holding them back. Captain Richard Bartos is their top scorer with 5 and right-back Adam Krcik has been ever present.

11^th placed FC ViON Zlate Moravce took only one point from their first 4 matches before recording their first win over Pohronie.  Another 8 games without a win followed before a 2-1 win at Senica was achieved. Their third win came with another victory over Pohronie, as they also finished the year with draws with Ruzemberok and Spartak in their last 5 matches. However, they ended with a home defeat to Zemplin Michalove ( 0-1 ). Right back Peter Cogley and Greek midfielder Alexandros Kyziridias have appeared in every match.

FK Pohronie, from the town of Ziar nad Hronom, which is about 40km from Banska Bystrica, prop up the table. Former Manchester United and Bolton midfielder James Weir was with the club last season but left in the summer to join MTK Budapest. Pohronie have won only twice so far, with both being over Zemplin Michalovce, although they also held Ruzemberok to a 2-2 home draw. Their last 6 matches have yield only one point. Ex Dundee United and Neman Grodno forward Milos Lacny has scored 6 goals.

 

 European Competitions

Champions Slovan Bratislava have had an extended campaign in Europe, although not as ultimately as successful as they might have hoped.  After overcoming Shamrock Rovers 3-2 on aggregate they were eliminated from the Champions Leagueafter a 2-3 defeat in Switzerland to Young Boys Berne. Dropping down to the Europa League they overcame the huge banana skin of a tie with Lincoln Red Imps with a 3-1 victory in Bratislava after a 1-1 draw in Gibraltar, although Olympiakos were two strong in the next round, prevailing 2-5.

Dropping down to the Europa Conference, Slovan again faced Lincoln Red Imps, but despite home and away victories, two draws with PAOK Salonika,  two losses to FC Copenhagen meant a third place finish and elimination

Runners-up DAC Dunejska Streda faced Partizan Belgrade in their Europa Conference tie and were eliminated 0-3 on aggregate

Third placed Spartak Trnava enjoyed some success in Europe, narrowly over coming Mostar of Malta 4-3 on aggregate, eliminating OSK Sepsi of Romanian after a penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 draw, before being edged out by Maccabi Tel Aviv 0-1 on aggregate.

After their disappointing elimination from the 2020/21 Europa League by The New Saints, Zilina’s young squad had a much more rewarding experience in 2021/22. Georgian’s Dila Gori were eliminated 6-3, Cypriots Apollon Limassol 5-3 and Kazakhs Tobal 6-0 before an emphatic exit at the hands of Czech side Jablonec 1-8 on aggregate.

Thame United 1-1 AFC Dunstable ( att : 165 ) – 2021/22 Southern League Division One Central

January 1, 2022

New Year’s Day saw AFC Dunstable visit Thame United for a 1pm kick-off. Although there are just over 26 miles between the two towns, this is not an obvious New Year derby for Thame, but perhaps a reflection of the increasing northerly movement of their fixtures. From their current division they might have expected to be playing Oxfordshire opponents eg Didcot, North Leigh, Kidlington or Wantage, although the Christmas fixture was against Buckinghamshire neighbours Aylesbury United but was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

Due to the postponement of the match against Aylesbury, Thame have not played since their victory over Colney Heath which was covered by these diaries. AFC Dunstable were also without a Christmas  fixture, with their last outing also being the Saturday before Christmas when they went down 0-2 at Welwyn Garden City.

Founded in 1981, they are not to be confused with Dunstable Town, the side George Best briefly played for in the 1973, and who are currently in the South Midlands Premier Division. The two sides both play at Creasey Park.

AFC Dunstable went into today’s fixture in third place in table 7 points behind leaders Bedford, albeit from a game less, with a 13-2-5 record, and the second best defensive record with only 18 goals conceded.  The losses have come against Didcot ( A 0-1, H 1-2 ),Ware ( A 2-3 ), Aylesbury ( H 1-2 ) and Welwyn GC ( A 0-2 ).  Bernard ( BJ ) Christie is the division’s leading scorer with 17 goals already this season, and over 250 for the club in his career.

Thame were in 8^th place 9 points behind from same number of matches played. AFC Dunstable have an average home attendance of 137 so far this season, compared to 106 for Thame.

The previous meeting between the two sides was in February 2020, when Thame won 2-1 at home. Two other matches have been played at Thame’s ASM stadium, with Thame winning 3-1 in 2018/19, but losing 0-5 in 2017/18. Dunstable have won both their home encounters.

It was around 12 degrees at the kick-off, with intermittent light drizzle. With grey clouds overhead the floodlights were already on. A large cup of tea was the order of the day, which cost £1.

Dunstable came flying out of the traps, and in the first minute Christie was able to turn past his marker, but his left-footed shot went across the face of the goal. A minute later Christie was scythed down by Thame centre-back Gilmore as he looked about to make a dangerous break, and the first yellow card of the day was brandished.

Dunstable got the reward for their impressive start with a goal in the 3^rd minute. From a free-kick by Newman Carney, who was to take all of their set-pieces, giant centre-back Ryan Frater was left free to head back across goal to Ben Farrell. Although his first effort was well saved by keeper Craig Hill, Farrell made no mistake to force the rebound over the line.

Thame were awoken in the 8^th minute when Dunstable’s Tavernier prevented a quick free-kick from being taken, which led to a mini-scuffle, handbags and a fair degree of bad language. From their first attack in the 10^th minute, Hackett chipped to just beyond the far post, where Ryan Blake miscued his shot and the loose ball was cleared.

Two minutes later, with the Dunstable bench screaming “no foul, no foul”, Tavernier predictably committed a foul to give Thame a free-kick. A minute afterwards though, the lively Christie extracted a foul from Thame’s other centre-back, David Lynn, for the second card of the match.

The challenges came flying in from both sides and it looked like the referee might be losing control of the game, as both sides complained about not getting free-kicks awarded their way.

Dunstable could easily have doubled their lead in the 20^th minute. Carney’s corner was met by McClelland but his close range effort was well saved on the line by Hill, and the ball was eventually scrambled clear.

Dunstable were in total command at this stage, and Christie had a shot deflected just wide for a corner. A couple more corners were forced, but Thame kept Dunstable at bay.

The game’s turning point occurred in the 28^th minute. Thame sent a long ball into the Dunstable half and Lynton Goss ran clear, and as he rounded Jamie Head, the Dunstable keeper, he was brought down outside the area. It was an obvious red card, but the referee took an age to come to this decision, with Head helpfully making things easier for him by standing close to the touch-line rather than retreating back into his area !

As Dunstable didn’t have a replacement keeper on the bench, centre-back Frater donned the green shirt and gloves to take his place between the sticks. Tactically, Dunstable moved midfielder Tavernier to right-back, with right-back Lewis Ferrell taking Frater’s place in the middle of the back four.

Thame wasted the free-kick, sending it high over the bar, which became the pattern for the final 15 minutes of the half in which they failed to get a single shot on target to test the keeper, and the traffic on the ring road was in serious danger as wild shots were launched out of the ground !

The one exception was a nice interchange of passes which put Goss clear but his shot skidded just wide of the far post.

Dunstable could have had a penalty two minutes after the red card, Christie played the ball onto Lynn’s arm at close quarters, but the referee waived play on despite the huge appeal and protests from the Dunstable players.

The pattern of the match continued in the second half, and the wind slightly increased in Thame’s favour. Thame had nearly all the possession but failed to test the stand-in keeper, apart from a couple of crosses which were dealt with by unconvincing one-handed punches.

The Dunstable defence deserve credit for the way they defended and left back Gideon Okito had an outstanding game in marking Thame dangerman Greg Hackett. On the one occasion Hackett’s trickery beat Okito, he was chopped down for a yellow card for the left-back. On their rare counter-attacks, Christie continued to look a handful.

The best chance in the first twenty minutes of the second half actually fell to Dunstable, when Carney’s incisive pass found Silford in the clear, but his shot was well saved by keeper Hill, although the linesman’s flag was eventually raised so it wouldn’t have counted anyway.

Thame’s pressure did yield an equaliser in the 64^th minute. Murray’s right-wing cross sailed beyond the far post and was well kept in play by Hackett, whose flick fell invitingly for Mepham to smash through a crowd of players from 10 yards.

A moment of controversy arrived 15 minutes from time, when Christie fell over the outstretched leg of Lynn and the linesman flagged from the free-kick. To me it didn’t look like a foul but as the free-kick had been awarded, a second yellow card should have been awarded to Lynn. However, despite a lengthy discussion with his linesman, and the protests from the Dunstable players and bench, the referee failed to produce the card. For his protests, Lewis Ferrell was actually shown a yellow card !

Thame continued to lack the guile to break down the stubborn defence as Frater was still only called upon to punch away corners. Twelve minutes from time Goss was left free inside the 6 yard area, but his header was weak and easily claimed by Frater.

Dunstable created one final chance five minutes from time, but after Hill could only punch Carney’s corner to Ben Farrell, his shot was charged down, and Tavernier put the loose ball high over the bar.

As the clock ticked down, Pearce had an attempt blocked by a defender for a corner after a lay back from Goss. Pearce met the corner beyond the back post but this effort was blocked for another corner, from which West headed just wide of the post.

Shortly afterwards the referee blew for full time. In truth, the draw was probably the right result. Dunstable had dominated until the red card to their keeper, and defended stoically for 60 minutes, limiting Thame to very few chances. Apart the equaliser, Thame did not force stand-in keeper Frater to make a single save, apart from punching away crosses and corner or gathering balls straight at him. We have no idea if he is Lev Yashin or Alan Rough !

In hindsight, had the Dunstable keeper instead allowed Goss to score rather than bringing him down and getting sent-off, Dunstable probably would have gone on to win the match with 11 players on the pitch.

Thame United : Hill - Murray, Lynn, Gilmore, Mepham ( Tutton ) – Hackett, Tompkins, West, Pearce – Goss, Blake

AFC Dunstable : Head – L. Ferrell, R. Frater, McClelland, Okito – Hamilton ( N. Frater ), Carney, B. Farrell, Tavernier, Silford ( Ann ) - Christie

On-line programme : https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/files.pitchero.com/clubs/13461/Sqt5VkXT56wfhOGB0sOg_AFC%20Dunstable%2001%2001%2022.pdf

Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ8_CUz5FTs