CFR Cluj and Galatasaray battled through torrential rains and a waterlogged pitch to draw 1-1 in Istanbul. Cluj took the lead early thanks to an own goal, but went a man down later in the first half. They nearly held on for the win, but conceded late thanks to some poor marking in the box.
Galatasaray vs. CFR Cluj: Final Score 1-1, An own goal, a red card and a waterlogged pitch
Galatasaray and Cluj played out an entertaining 1-1 draw despite torrential rains that turned the pitch in to a swampy mudbath.
Michael Regan
Cluj took a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute thanks to an unfortunate own goal by Dany Nounkeu. Camora got loose on the left wing and whipped a cross in to the box that Pantelis Kapetanos got a touch on on the ball, sending it right in to the feet of a sliding Nounkeu who deflected the ball in to the net. Kapetanos’s initial touch didn’t appear to be going anywhere near the net, thus the own goal decision.
Matías Aguirregaray opened the door right back up for Galatasaray through sheer stupidity. In the 25th minute he was shown a yellow card after some pushing and shoving with Nourredine Amrabat (who was also shown a card). Three minutes later, he also made a unnecessary tackle from behind on Selcuk Inan during a break and the referee promptly showed a second yellow and sent off the midfielder.
On the ensuing free kick, the ball bounced around in the back a bit before ending up on the foot of Hamit Altintop who launched a missile of a shot that was fought off in outstanding fashion by Mario Felgueiras.
Galatasary were awarded a very soft penalty in the 34th minute after the ball deflected off Laszlo Sepsi's hand as he was mid-jump with his arms extended for balance. Felipe Melo stepped up to the spot, but his shot was saved by Felgueiras to keep Cluj in the lead.
The second half was all Galatasray, pouring buckets of pressure on Cluj as the buckets of rain fell from the sky. Cluj held strong but were finally broken down in the 77th minute. Burak Yilmaz out jumped the Cluj defenders in the middle of the back and headed Nourredine Amrabat’s cross past Felgueiras to even the match 1-1.
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