Our Superliga side are preparing for only their third home league match of the season, with CFR Cluj visiting the Municipal Stadium on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Our Superliga side are preparing for only their third home league match of the season, with CFR Cluj visiting the Municipal Stadium on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Red and Blacks aim to draw strength from the support of the home crowd, secure their first Superliga victory of the campaign and begin climbing the table.

We head into the seventh round of the league in a difficult position, sitting 16th in the table with one point from six matches. Four of those games, however, have been played away from home and, although we lost them, the team have shown signs of progress from one match to the next. The first tangible result of that improvement came in the Romanian Cup, where a 2–1 away victory over Steaua Bucharest earned us our first win of the season and a place in the group stage.

The match against CFR Cluj will be only our third home fixture of the current league campaign. According to head coach István Szabó, home advantage is not merely about familiar surroundings, but primarily about the strength the team can draw from the stands.

“We have played two home matches so far. We lost one of them, but I do not think we disgraced ourselves, while against Sepsi we managed to keep a point at home. We played very well for 60 minutes in that match and had a chance to win, but ultimately had to settle for a draw. Home advantage is not just about the venue itself; it is also about the supporters and the way they encourage us from beginning to end. That helps us enormously,” our head coach said.

Our latest trip, to Botoșani, offered another opportunity to demonstrate that we are also capable of returning from away matches with a point or all three. We played dangerous, fluid football and controlled proceedings during the opening quarter of an hour, but the red card shown in the 18th minute fundamentally changed the game. We had to play for more than 70 minutes with ten men, leaving us with no real opportunity to turn our promising start into a positive result.

“It was an unnecessarily reckless and serious foul which will have consequences. We dealt with the incident very quickly in the dressing room and we do not have time to continue dwelling on it. We played on Monday evening, arrived home early on Tuesday morning and the next match is already upon us. That is now our sole focus,” István Szabó explained.

CFR still without an away point

Saturday’s opponents sit 12th in the table with six points from five matches. CFR have recorded both of their victories at home, while losing all three of their away league fixtures. Most recently, under returning head coach Marius Șumudică, the Cluj side claimed a 1–0 victory over the previously unbeaten FCSB.

There has also been talk of administrative and financial difficulties surrounding the club in recent weeks, but our head coach believes it would be a serious mistake to assess Saturday’s opponents on that basis.

“Anyone who tries to motivate their team by arguing that the opposition have financial or other problems is making a major mistake. I would not presume to concern myself with the affairs of another club. What I saw in their match on Sunday was an excellent performance and a team capable of beating very strong opponents,” István Szabó stressed.

The two sides have met twice in the Superliga. Last season’s match in Miercurea Ciuc ended in a memorable 2–2 draw: Márton Eppel scored his first goal for our club in the 34th minute, before Lóránd Pászka equalised from the penalty spot in the 99th minute. CFR won the return fixture in Cluj 3–1, meaning the top-flight head-to-head record currently stands at one draw and one CFR victory, with a 5–3 aggregate score in the Cluj side’s favour.

Márton Eppel has fond memories of that first encounter and hopes to find the net against CFR again on Saturday.

“It is a very positive memory because it was my first goal for the club. It is always important for a striker to score his first goal of the season. I was a new player and it was an important match for us, in which we managed to draw against a strong team. Matches against the bigger clubs are particularly special to me. I am really looking forward to this game, I want to perform well and score my first goal again,” our striker said.

Our team have scored twice in the opening six league rounds, although chances have not been lacking in recent matches. Eppel believes that maintaining composure and mental balance is the most important thing during such a period.

“I had opportunities against Sepsi and in Botoșani as well. I need to maintain the right mental state so that I can score from my next chance. I do not need to focus on anything else; I just have to remain calm. I have experienced more difficult periods during my career, and now I am working to score this weekend. The most important thing, however, is that we win,” Eppel added.

Building on stability

Recent arrival Artúr Horváth quickly made his debut for our team and has formed a positive first impression of his new surroundings.

“The lads welcomed me very warmly, and the opportunity to come here and help the team was a major attraction for me. The fact that there are many Hungarian-speaking players in the dressing room has made it much easier for me to settle in. I feel that there is quality in this team and that we are capable of winning matches,” our midfielder said.

According to Horváth, the Romanian Superliga is a more open competition that requires players to cover more ground and produces more chances than he previously experienced in the Hungarian top flight. He believes the team have already shown signs of stability, with greater concentration in the attacking third representing the next step.

“The recent matches have shown that we can be a stable team, and our philosophy is to build on that stability. We demonstrated this against Sepsi and Steaua, as well as in Botoșani, where we controlled the game until the sending-off and, as far as circumstances allowed, afterwards too. If we can be a little more focused in attack and develop the confidence to convert our chances, then we can score goals and win matches,” Artúr Horváth stated.

Following the departure of Zoltán Efraim Bödő, complying with the rule regarding young players also requires the coaching staff to find a new solution. According to István Szabó, the example of the player who has joined Hungarian champions ETO FC Győr can also motivate the academy’s youngsters.

“Bödő played in almost every league match last season and scored three goals. The fact that he was able to take the next step from here can be a great source of motivation for the other young players: the work done in the academy can earn someone a place in the first team. Naturally, the situation has become more difficult for us because we have several very talented players, but many of them are still extremely young. We do not want to use that as an excuse, however. We have to comply with the rule using the players who are currently here,” our head coach said.

There may still be changes to the squad during the closing stages of the transfer window, although István Szabó does not expect a major wave of reinforcements. The coaching staff would, of course, welcome the arrival of a suitable player, but the situation is complicated by the fact that footballers available during the season may lack match fitness and require time to reach the necessary level of form.

The objective for Saturday is clear: to make the most of home advantage, finally turn our promising spells of play into tangible results and secure our first league victory. We hope that the fine margins which decide matches will fall in our favour this time, allowing us to start collecting points and climbing the table.

The match between FK Csíkszereda and CFR Cluj kicks off at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the Municipal Stadium in Miercurea Ciuc. The game will be broadcast live on Digi Sport 1 and Prima Sport 1.

Come on, FK! Come on, Ciuc! Come on, Székely Land!