Romania take all three points with “smash and grab” winner

In the second game to begin the year, Romania took on Mictlan FC. A tightly knit affair saw Romania grab the winner in the final minute, led by Julian Katz’s hat-trick. 

It didn’t take long for these two new opponents to figure each other out as Mictlan scored in the opening two minutes. Romania’s defense was caught sleeping and Mictlan fired a ball into the penalty box with Alejandro Gonzalez guiding the ball into the net for the early lead. Following the goal, Mictlan wouldn’t stay in front for long. Romania were back on the attack in the sixth minute, looking for an equalizer. Mictlan originally stopped their efforts with a save, but Julian Katz was on the doorstep for the rebound goal. In the 15th minute, Mictlan re-gained the lead. It was a nice turn from the attacker, forcing the goalkeeper to stretch out as he watched the ball roll past him. Romania were determined to not fall behind by two goals as they equalized again in the 19th minute. A corner was sent into the box and Katz quickly pounced on the ball for his and his team’s second goal. After a closely contested first half, the teams went into the break even at two goals.

Breaking the pattern, it was Romania who scored the first goal of the second half to take their first lead of the game. Once again, Mictlan saved the first shot, but it was none other than Katz securing the rebound again and scoring the league’s first hat-trick of the season. Although, it seemed as if neither team could keep a lead as just two minutes later, in the 38th minute, Mictlan scored their third goal. From a goal kick, the ball fell to them, and they quickly entered Romania’s half. The ball found the feet of Gonzalez again as he scored his brace, putting the ball past the goalkeeper’s near side. All things pointed to this game ending in a sharing of the points, but Romania had other ideas. In the final moments of the game, Romania turned on the jets, creating a slick counter attack for themselves, running past Mictlan’s defense. Elis Micka ran the length of the field and was finally rewarded with a goal which ultimately became the game’s winner.

For the first game of the season, this is as exciting as a game could be. Romania proved that no score is safe as they found the winner as the game came to a close. This opener surely took a lot out of these two teams, and it’ll be exciting to see how they respond in their next match. 

Romania FC 4-3 Mictlan

Goals: Katz (7’, 19’, 36’), Micka (50′) – A. Gonzalez (2’), Edson Zherka (15’), Salazar (38′)
Man of the Match: Julian Katz