No goals were scored in Tuesday’s Romanian Cup match between the two best teams from Székely Land, held in Miercurea Ciuc. In front of stands dressed in festive colors, the two sides shared the points after a hard-fought encounter.
No goals were scored in Tuesday’s Romanian Cup match between the two best teams from Székely Land, held in Miercurea Ciuc. In front of stands dressed in festive colors, the two sides shared the points after a hard-fought encounter.
It’s hard to recall a football derby where the supporters of both sides not only cheer their own favorites together but also chant the songs of the opposing fan group, encouraging their rivals – yet that’s exactly what happened this time in Miercurea Ciuc. Moreover, following the now traditional rendition of Nélküled—which has become a custom in both Sfântu Gheorghe and Miercurea Ciuc—the Székely-Hungarian supporters united to sing the National Anthem before kickoff, honoring the festive occasion.
On the pitch, despite the brotherly spirit in the stands, a tough battle unfolded, as expected. It can’t be said that either coach fielded a second team, although it’s true that Simon Máté hadn’t started in goal for a long time, and Dusinszki Szabolcs was in the starting lineup for the first time since joining Csíkszereda. On the visitors’ side, Heras entered the starting eleven to replace Cmiljanic after warm-ups, while Oberlin, Oteliță, and Haruț were not among the starters but were introduced by Burcă toward the end. For Csíkszereda, Ferenczi, Anderson, and Szalay came on around the 60th minute to try to decide the game, followed by Szilágyi and Csürös in the final ten minutes – the latter interestingly having also been on the field during the teams’ last official meetings more than ten years ago, in the 2014–2015 Liga 3 season.
On the turf of the Miercurea Ciuc municipal stadium, the ball mostly moved along the hosts’ feet, while the visitors defended effectively and counterattacked dangerously. In the first half, the biggest chance fell to Dusinszki, who, after creating space for himself, shot low toward the left corner from 16 meters, but Ungureanu dived to save. After the break, Batzula tested Simon with a long-range strike, but our goalkeeper confidently kept it out. Dobrosalevici collected two yellow cards in just three minutes, earning a red in the 59th minute. Even so, the remaining half-hour wasn’t enough for the FK players to turn their numerical and territorial advantage into a goal. Anderson, Eppel, and Végh all came close, but not close enough. On the other side, Oberlin posed a threat following a corner, but without success.
According to head coach Róbert Ilyés, the reason for the lack of goals was mainly poor decision-making in attack:
“If I think about the fact that we played with a man advantage, we should have done more to win this game. We dictated the tempo for most of the match, but the visitors surprised us with dangerous counterattacks, which I didn’t expect. Both teams leave this clash with just one point, which is very little for qualification. We were counting on winning this one, but we move on with our heads held high. We still have two matches left in the group, and we must win both if we want a chance to advance,” the coach emphasized at the post-match press conference.
Ilyés expressed his regret that the numerous fans in the stands were not rewarded with goals but hopes the team will make it up to them in the next home game. Naturally, he was also asked how it felt to lead FK Csíkszereda into battle against his former team.
“I spent four years there; people love and respect me, but they also understood when I wanted to come home and become a head coach. The respect is mutual, and the clubs respect each other as well. I’m proud to have been part of this story, and I hope they achieve their goals and return to the top division, while we stay there – it would be a dream come true to face each other again in the Superliga,” said the Csíkszereda football legend.
Romanian Cup, Group C, Matchday 1
FK Csíkszereda – Sepsi OSK 0–0
Miercurea Ciuc, Municipal Stadium, 1,930 spectators
Referees: Buși Cătălin, Schopeț Claudiu, Cosmescu Cristian. Fourth official: Mormeci Ovidiu Robert.
Yellow cards: Pászka (85) / Heras (21), Ovidiu Burcă (head coach – 27), Dobrosalevici (56, 59), Skorup (74), Oteliță (85), Vîrtej (90+1), Ungureanu (90+4)
Red card: Dobrosalevici (59)
FK Csíkszereda: Simon Máté – Pászka Lóránd, Hegedűs János, Palmeș Raul, Gál-Andrezly Peter (Ferenczi János 58) – Veres Szilárd (Csürös Attila 83), Végh Bence (Szilágyi Szabolcs 83), Szabó Bálint, Dusinszki Szabolcs (Szalay Szabolcs 58), Jebari Soufiane (Anderson Ceará 58) – Eppel Márton.
Head coach: Róbert Ilyés
Sepsi OSK: Ungureanu Gheorghe – Techereș Ionel (Haruț Denis 61), Dobrosalevici Alin, Vîrtej Daniel, Oroian Darius – Iglesias Daniel (Cîmpean Raul 71), Skorup Dino, Batzula Hunor, Aganović Adnan (Oteliță Bogdan 61), Ghimfuș David (Oberlin Dimitri 61) – Heras Ignacio (Silaghi Robert Mihai 83).
Head coach: Ovidiu Burcă
In the group’s other match on Tuesday, Oțelul Galați surprisingly drew 3–3 away at third-division Sporting Liești. In the next round, scheduled for early December, FK Csíkszereda will host Oțelul Galați.
Text: Attila Rédai
Photo: Zoltán Pál