We earned our first victory of the season on August 20, Hungary’s national holiday commemorating the foundation of the state, after a hard-fought battle: we defeated Steaua Bucharest 2–1 away from home after extra time to secure our place in the Romanian Cup group stage. Well done, boys!
We earned our first victory of the season on August 20, Hungary’s national holiday commemorating the foundation of the state, after a hard-fought battle: we defeated Steaua Bucharest 2–1 away from home after extra time to secure our place in the Romanian Cup group stage. Well done, boys!
We took the lead late in the first half, but the hosts equalised from the penalty spot after the break. There was nothing to separate the teams at the end of regulation time, but in extra time our superior fitness began to tell, and Szalay Szabolcs’s goal decided the contest in our favour.
Szabó István’s side started the match on the front foot and controlled the early stages. In the 5th minute, Ódor headed Veres’s cross narrowly wide of the left post, before the hosts reached Pap’s goal two minutes later, although their attempt posed little threat. From the counter-attack that followed, Stahl threatened at the other end.
By the 10th minute, the contest had become more balanced. For a long spell, most of the action took place in midfield before Ódor broke into the penalty area in the 35th minute and picked out Dolny with an excellent ball. Our forward was unable to get into a shooting position under pressure from the defenders, and the move ended with him receiving a yellow card for an attacking foul.
We broke the deadlock in the 40th minute. Magyar curled a free kick into the middle from near the right corner of the penalty area, and the arriving Trif produced an excellent glancing header into the bottom-right corner (0–1). We threatened Simon’s goal once more from a corner during the three minutes of added time, but there were no further goals before the break, and we went into half-time with a one-goal lead.
After the restart, Stahl threatened in the 47th minute, but Simon saved comfortably. Shortly afterwards, the hosts created their first genuinely dangerous opportunity at the other end: Camara drove into the penalty area at pace, but Pap was alert and turned the ball behind for a corner. The resulting set piece caused further danger in front of our goal, and as the move continued, Csürös stepped across the path of Camara as the Steaua forward drove towards goal again. Camara went down, and the referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Chipirliu stepped up and, after a slight hesitation, sent the ball into the bottom-right corner. Pap guessed the direction but was unable to keep it out (1–1).
The hosts gained the upper hand after the equaliser, and our head coach looked to freshen up the team with four substitutions. As part of those changes, our newest signing, Horváth Artúr, who joined us from MTK Budapest, made his first appearance in the 60th minute. Six minutes later, Czékus broke through successfully but fired straight at Simon, while at the other end Pap’s presence of mind was needed on several occasions to prevent us from falling behind.
In the 74th minute, following a hydration break, Eppel headed over from Pászka’s corner, before firing wide from a similar situation a minute later, missing our biggest opportunity of the second half. The hosts visibly began to tire towards the closing stages, and we regained control of the match. In the 88th minute, Trif tested Simon with a shot that the goalkeeper tipped over the crossbar. We kept the home goal under constant pressure throughout the three minutes of added time, but were unable to convert our chances, sending the match into extra time.
Following a short break, the two teams returned for another two periods of 15 minutes. In the 94th minute, a combination between Stahl and Eppel caused danger in front of the home goal, before seconds later Palmeș met a free-kick delivery with an excellent header, only for the in-form Simon to make the save.
By the end of the first period of extra time, fatigue was clearly beginning to affect both teams, but we continued to attack the Steaua goal. Eppel and Pászka both threatened on several occasions, although neither was able to turn their opportunities into a goal.
In the final 15 minutes, fitness and concentration became increasingly decisive. The crucial moment arrived in the 111th minute: Szalay Szabolcs, who had come on as a substitute after regulation time, completed an individual move with a thunderous strike from near the left corner of the penalty area, giving Simon no chance as he fired into the bottom-left corner (1–2).
The hosts were unable to respond in the closing stages. Before the final whistle, Adăscăliței received two consecutive yellow cards for dissent, meaning Steaua finished the match with ten men. The score remained unchanged: after a tremendous battle, we secured our first victory of the season and booked our place in the Romanian Cup group stage.
Following the match, our head coach, Szabó István, highlighted the team’s work and the difficult conditions.
– Perhaps the most difficult thing today was the weather. Hats off to the boys for working through 120 minutes in 35–36-degree heat. I do not usually pay much attention to the conditions, but yesterday we were still training in tracksuits in Miercurea Ciuc, and now we played in 36 degrees. As for the match, I think we controlled the game throughout, played with a significant advantage and worked tremendously hard. I am not saying our performance was perfect because quite a few mistakes crept into our game. We took the lead, then once again made the kind of mistakes we have been making, and Steaua were able to equalise from one of them. In extra time, however, we had several huge chances, and I am very happy that Szalay eventually scored because a penalty shootout is already a lottery. It was a typical cup tie in which we lived up to expectations, but it was very difficult. Congratulations to the team – he said.
According to the head coach, qualification and the first victory of the season can also be important for the team mentally, although the focus must now shift to the next league fixture.
– Overall, I am very happy that we went through; that is why we came here. The victory is also good for the team psychologically, and that was the most important thing today. At the same time, we do not want to overstate this win. Just as we did not pay too much attention when we were criticised, but instead kept our heads down and continued working, we are doing what we need to do now as well. Tomorrow we recover, we train on Saturday and Sunday, and then we travel to Botoșani. That will be our seventh match of the season, and five of those seven matches will have been away from home. It is extremely demanding, and all this travelling takes a lot out of us, but we are not looking for excuses. From now on, our sole focus is preparing for the match against Botoșani – he added.
Szabó István recorded his first victory as head coach of FK Csíkszereda, but stressed that the team’s objective remains his primary concern.
– I have said several times to the team, the staff and even to the president that what I feel is not what matters. The most important thing is for the team to stay in this division and for our supporters to be able to watch top-flight football again next season. Of course, I consider myself a person with feelings too. We have been through five very hard weeks of preparation, and until now we had not yet experienced the taste of victory. I very much hope we can experience it again on Monday, but as I have said, this is a very difficult league. We have to approach every match as if it were a matter of life and death, and we cannot relax for even a moment. Our supporters give us all the encouragement they possibly can, so it is our duty to always give everything we have.
Our next match will be on Monday, August 24, at 18:30, away to FC Botoșani in the SuperLiga regular season.
Romanian Cup, play-off for qualification to the group stage
Steaua Bucharest – FK Csíkszereda 1–2 (0–1, 1–1, 1–2) – after extra time.
August 20, 2026, 17:00
Bucharest, Steaua Stadium
Goalscorers: Chipirliu Remus (52 – penalty), respectively Trif Răzvan (40), Szalay Szabolcs (111).
Referee: Burloiu Dorin Alexandru.
Assistant referees: Ichim Cristi, Mazga Ilinca.
Fourth official: Cojocaru Sebastian.
Referee observer: Colțescu Sebastian Constantin.
Yellow cards: Jozef Dolny (36), Raul Palmeș (44), Horváth Artúr (100), Adăscăliței Mihai (114, 114), Adrian Ilie (114).
Red card: Adăscăliței Mihai (114).
Steaua Bucharest: Simon Máté – Dorado Perez, Dinu Inouț, Barbu David (Bobaru Mihai 60), Chipirliu Remus (David Stoica 56), Ilie Adrian, Camara Sekou, Răsdan Florin, Adăscăliței Mihai, Pacionel Ștefan, Gonzales Mora. Head coach: Oprița Daniel Ionel.
FK Csíkszereda: Pap Eduard – Palmeș Raul, Veres Szilárd (Pászka Lóránd 60), Jozef Dolny (Eppel Márton 60), Csürös Attila, Noveli Luca (Bödő Efraim Zoltán 72), Ódor Máté (Czékus Ádám 60), Hegedüs János, Trif Răzvan, Magyar Zsolt (Horváth Artúr 60), Stahl Albert (Szalay Szabolcs 92). Head coach: Szabó István.
László Orbán