FK Csíkszereda claimed their third Superliga victory, edging out fellow relegation-battle rivals Unirea Slobozia by a single goal in a combative, eventful match – though the difference could easily have been larger.

FK Csíkszereda claimed their third Superliga victory, edging out fellow relegation-battle rivals Unirea Slobozia by a single goal in a combative, eventful match – though the difference could easily have been larger.

The humid, foggy late-November weather meant that for both the supporters in the stands and the TV audience, the infamous Ciuc fog often became the main protagonist of Friday evening, thickening from above to the point where it looked almost solid – although on pitch level it caused no major problems. The match was also honoured by the presence of the most famous Transylvanian Hungarian, László Bölöni, who is currently in the region for the presentation tour of the documentary about his life; the film can be seen in Miercurea Ciuc on Sunday, November 23, at 3 p.m., at the House of Culture of the Trade Unions, in the presence of the legendary former footballer and coach.

It was especially important to win this match, as we were not only facing a direct rival in the fight for league survival, but, in a sense, also seeking revenge for the 1–6 defeat we suffered in Round 2. Even so, the first chance belonged to the visitors: in the 3rd minute, Bărbuț found Coadă, who attempted a bicycle kick, but fortunately without power, allowing Pap to collect easily.

In the 16th minute we threatened for the first time when Ferenczi’s 17-metre shot was deflected just enough to go out for a corner. Four minutes later, on the other side, Renato tested Pap again, and in the same minute Anderson spun and sent a dangerous effort from 17 metres, but Gurău – replacing the injured Rusu – stretched to save. A minute later, Ferenczi’s cross from the left was headed wide by Eppel, then Eppel struck into the left bottom corner, but the move had begun from a clear offside, spotted promptly by the assistant referee . In the 32nd minute, Jebari hammered a long-range effort from 32 metres, Gurău punching it out in front. In the 38th minute Safronov cleared Ferenczi’s shot, and three minutes later Jebari found himself in a seemingly unmissable position after a nice Anderson–Eppel move, but our winger could not chip the ball over Gurău.

The second half began with Afana threatening for Slobozia, but in the 49th minute, after a lay-off from Jebari, Anderson curled a beauty into the left top corner: 1–0! The next major event came in the 61st minute, in the thickening fog, when Antoche hit the side netting – luckily from the outside. Two minutes later came a moment worthy of any anthology: after an FK corner, the visitors launched a dangerous counter-attack, Pap rushed far out to clear, but the ball fell to Pop, who – incredibly – lobbed the ball first-touch from around 52 metres, near the halfway line, into our goal: 1–1. The identity of the scorer became clear only after a few minutes of checking, as even TV footage did not show it clearly.

But FK’s spirit was not broken. In the 65th minute Ferenczi rattled the crossbar, getting us extremely close to regaining the lead. And what was due finally arrived: in the 75th minute, during a fast attack led by Anderson, the Brazilian delivered a perfect pass to Eppel arriving from behind the defenders, and our striker made no mistake: 2–1!

Eppel could have scored our third goal two minutes before the end of normal time, and Slobozia tried to press in the final moments, but the victory was ours: Ilyés Róbert’s team added another three points to the 13 already accumulated.

After the final whistle, the „Lokálpatrióták” supporter group celebrated the players at length, also greeting our goalscorer Marci Eppel, who had celebrated his birthday just one day before – we wish him continued success and many goals in FK colours: Happy birthday, Marci!

At the post-match press conference, our head coach highlighted that the game unfolded exactly as anticipated:
“I knew we would face a team coming from five consecutive defeats, a team that would fight very hard for the three points. I am happy that my players reacted well; we entered the match strongly from the first minute, we tried to play football, to keep the ball down, and today we fully deserved the three points.”

And indeed, the statistics show clear home dominance: more possession (53%), more shots on target (7–3), more attempts (16–13) and more corners (8–6).

Next round we will again face a top team, this time away at league leaders Rapid Bucharest: the match kicks off next Friday at 20:30.

Superliga, regular season, Round 17
FK Csíkszereda–Unirea Slobozia 2–1 (0–0)
Referees: Coza Ionuț, Marin Nicușor, Bobe Ionuț Marius
VAR: Popa Cătălin Sorin • AVAR: Rusandu Lucian Claudiu
Fourth official: Dumitrache Bogdan
Goals: Anderson (49), Eppel (75) / Pop (63)
Yellow cards: Veres (39) / Pop (24)

FK Csíkszereda:
Pap Eduard Adrian – Pászka Loránd, Palmeș Raul Ioan, Hegedűs János Krisztian, Ferenczi János – Veres Szilárd (Csürös Attila 84), Végh Bence, Bödő Zoltán Efraim (Tóth-Pál Előd 90+3), Anderson Ceará (Dusinszki Szabolcs 81), Jebari Soufiane (Szalay Szabolcs 70) – Eppel Márton (Szilágyi Szabolcs 90+3).
Head coach: Ilyés Róbert

Unirea Slobozia:
Gurău Ion Cristian – Dorobanțu Andrei Cristian, Safronov Oleksandr, Antoche Marius Paul, Dragu Andrei Fernando – Pop Vlad Marian, Coadă Ionuț Viorel (Jeno Jekob 69), Afalna Nkama Christ (Dulcea Patrick 53), Papeau Jayson Jordan Julien Romain (Florescu Eduard Marian 81), Bărbuț Cristi Marian (Said Ahmed Said 53) – Espinosa Torres Renato (Purece Florin 69).
Head coach: Vlădoiu Ion

Rédai Attila
Photo: Pál Zoltán