Carniny had the lion's share of possession in the first half,  pinning Romania NI deep as they battled against the wind, but were still hitting the home side on the break. Adrian Dubyna hit the post on ten mins but it still took until the 40th minute for the breakthrough to arrive. A sharp five‑pass move involving Mooney, Armstrong and Wright opened the visitors up, with Lowry eventually sliding the ball into the path of Adrian Dubyna, who hammered his finish in off the crossbar. The second goal followed just five minutes later and came from nothing more than a throw‑in inside Carniny’s own half. Aaron Johnston spotted space early and lifted a long, looping ball over the Romanian NI back line. Wright timed his run perfectly, cushioned the ball on his chest and calmly slotted past the advancing keeper.
Carniny went into the interval fully deserving of their 2–0 lead, having dominated territory, possession and chances throughout the opening period.

Carniny had to weather a brighter spell from the visitors after the restart, with Romania NI immediately showing more intent. A dangerous free‑kick forced McKillop into action, the keeper reacting sharply to palm the effort onto the post before the defence cleared the danger. However, despite that early pressure, it was Carniny who struck next. Thirteen minutes into the half, Johnston delivered a superb cross from the right, picking out Wright in space. With no defender near him, Wright steadied himself just outside the six‑yard box and guided a composed finish into the net to extend the lead to 3–0. A bizarre moment followed when Covaci lifted a hopeful ball forward toward Bajenaru. The Romanian NI attacker chased it down but lost his footing as he reached the edge of the box. As he stumbled, he stretched out an arm and managed to poke the ball past McKillop and into the Carniny net with his hand. The decision lifted the visitors, who suddenly grew in confidence and pushed hard to find a way back into the match. Carniny, however, stayed organised and disciplined. They absorbed the pressure well and continued to threaten on the break. Wright came agonisingly close to restoring the three‑goal cushion when his strike crashed off the crossbar, but he didn’t have to wait long. Moments later he completed his hat‑trick, finishing confidently to make it 4–1 and reassert Carniny’s control.

In the closing stages, Kundys almost added a fifth when his low effort struck the post and rolled away to safety. That proved to be the final action of an eventful contest, with Carniny running out deserved winners.