The match against Dinamo began with a goal from Márton Eppel, but our hopes of earning points had already faded by the end of the first half. We now have ten days until our next league fixture, followed by a longer international break, giving us time to put things in order.

The match against Dinamo began with a goal from Márton Eppel, but our hopes of earning points had already faded by the end of the first half. We now have ten days until our next league fixture, followed by a longer international break, giving us time to put things in order.

István Szabó’s side made a courageous start to Friday evening’s encounter with the league leaders and took the lead as early as the fifth minute. Lóránd Pászka delivered a free kick into the penalty area, and Márton Eppel headed the ball into the net from close range. The goal underwent a lengthy VAR review, but the referee eventually pointed to the centre circle: 1–0.

Our rhythm was disrupted shortly afterwards by an enforced substitution. In the 13th minute, Răzvan Trif was unable to continue because of an injury and was replaced by Gabriel Araújo Lima, who made his FK debut—a change that significantly disrupted the game plan.

The visitors gradually took control. In the 19th minute, Karamoko attempted to send the ball beneath the crossbar, but Eduard Pap tipped it behind for a corner. Four minutes later, our goalkeeper produced an excellent save to keep out Castillo’s header, before Karamoko lifted the rebound into the net. The goal, however, was disallowed for offside.

Dinamo equalised with a valid goal in the 26th minute. Armstrong drove into the penalty area, our defenders were unable to intervene, and he struck into the net from around twelve metres with the help of the post: 1–1.

Anti-Hungarian and xenophobic chants were subsequently heard from the away section, prompting referee George Cătălin Roman to suspend play briefly.

In the 31st minute, Opruț received the ball in space on the left, but his shot took a deflection off one of our defenders and went behind for a corner. Three minutes later, Lima tried his luck from distance, but Bellaarouch comfortably gathered the centrally directed effort.

Dinamo completed the turnaround in the 37th minute. Zandbergen raced between two of our defenders following a long clearance by Bellaarouch, advanced alone towards Pap’s goal and made no mistake. This goal was also subjected to a lengthy VAR review, but no offside was eventually found: 1–2.

Lima created danger as the first half approached its conclusion. In the 45th minute, following a corner from the left, he lifted a left-footed effort from sixteen metres narrowly wide at the far post. Dinamo struck again in the first minute of added time. Soro met Armstrong’s accurate cross from the right and, despite being closely marked by a defender, comfortably directed the ball into the net, allowing the visitors to go into the break with a two-goal advantage.

Our team sought to maintain its composure in the second half. In the 55th minute, Bellaarouch parried Albert Stahl’s long-range strike, but the visiting defenders cleared the rebound. Four minutes later, Karamoko fired over following a misplaced pass, before threatening again in the 62nd minute, when his effort narrowly missed the target.

In the 70th minute, Márton Eppel headed over the crossbar from Máté Ódor’s delivery. There were no further goals, and Dinamo won the match 3–1.

Szabolcs Nyitra, who joined the senior team from the Székely Land Football Academy, made his first Superliga appearance in FK colours on this evening. Gabriel Araújo Lima and Nino Kukovec also made their debuts for our team in this match.

After the final whistle, calls for István Szabó’s resignation could be heard from the stands.

István Szabó: We beat ourselves in the first half

According to our head coach, the team made a strong start to the match, but the early enforced substitution disrupted the original game plan.

“We started very well. Our plan was to put pressure on our opponents because, if you give them space, they are a very difficult team to play against. We took the lead, but the unfortunate injury compromised our plan because we were forced to make a change. A right winger had to come on at left-back. We did not want to move Lóri out of the centre because we believed he could organise our play there, especially as Szilárd Veres and Ádám Csürös were both missing. I am very disappointed because we virtually beat ourselves in the first half. Our opponents have a great deal of quality, but we nevertheless conceded some very amateurish goals,” István Szabó said.

Our head coach stressed that he considers Dinamo the strongest opponent we have faced so far this season, while also identifying some positive aspects in his team’s attitude.

“I think that, despite everything, the team fought until the end. We faced a side with ambitions of winning the championship, and I felt they were the best opponents we have played so far in every respect. Losing is extremely painful, but if we always played like this, we certainly would not have only one point.”

According to the coach, one of the main objectives at half-time was to ensure that the team maintained its composure in the second half.

“We wanted the supporters to see that we were working and fighting hard. We had originally planned to give Lima fifteen or twenty minutes because he had only trained with us twice and is not yet at the required fitness level. He suffered cramp, so we had to replace him as well. We also had to take into account the regulations concerning Romanian and foreign players, and we did not have the Romanian citizen we needed available in the squad. We also wanted to freshen up the team, but the squad available today did not allow us to do so.”

István Szabó said the players would be given a short rest over the coming days before preparations begin for the match against Petrolul.

“We have had very little time to rest so far. The boys will now receive one or two days off, after which we will have more time to prepare than we have had until now. I very much hope this will also be reflected in the points we earn in the next round.”

“The head coach is responsible for everything”

At the post-match press conference, István Szabó also addressed the supporters’ reaction.

“I have been a coach for almost thirty years, so I have to accept that the supporter is right. If we wanted to look for the reasons, we could examine what lies behind these issues, but the head coach is responsible for everything. I will not air our internal problems in front of the media, whether they concern players, the regulations in Romania or other circumstances. These matters must be resolved internally,” he said.

As an example, our head coach noted that Dinamo’s current manager had faced calls for his resignation in Zalaegerszeg a year earlier.

“I do not want to draw a parallel, and I congratulate my colleague, but at this time last year people in Zalaegerszeg were calling for his resignation. I am not saying this to defend myself; I merely offered an example of how supporters can react. I am not trying to shift responsibility onto anyone else, but if you watch the match and the goals we conceded again, several questions can certainly be asked. I also ask the players these questions, but I do not do so in front of the media. Perhaps that is a problem as well, but I will not do it.”

Márton Eppel: I am terribly disappointed

According to our goalscorer, the team lost confidence after conceding goals far too easily.

“We started the match very well, as we took an early lead. If we are honest, we know that Dinamo are a very good team in excellent form. However, we cannot allow ourselves to concede such easy goals. From inside the pitch, I felt that we lost our confidence. That should not happen, but in the situation we currently find ourselves in, everything can unravel much more easily. I think that was visible as well,” Márton Eppel said.

The striker identified the clean sheet in the second half as the only positive the team could take from the match.

“The one positive we can take from the second half is that we did not concede another goal. To be completely honest, I am terribly disappointed. I feel sorry for the entire team, for the players and for the supporters. Last year, every home match was a wonderful experience for us as players, as well as for the supporters and the management. It is very difficult that we now have to go through this at every home match. I cannot wait for the next game so that we can finally win.”

Eppel believes an outstanding performance in every respect will be required away to Petrolul.

“We do not yet know exactly what the schedule for the coming days will look like. In principle, we will receive one or two days off, after which we will carry out the work asked of us. We will try to prepare as well as possible, but more is required from everyone. We have also played difficult matches in Ploiești in the past. We need to prepare extremely well and put ourselves right mentally, both as a team and individually, so that we can earn one point or even all three.”

Superliga, regular season, Round 9

FK Csíkszereda–Dinamo Bucharest 1–3 (1–3)

Date: Friday, 11 September 2026, 9:00 p.m.
Venue: Miercurea Ciuc Municipal Stadium, 1,518 spectators
Referee: George Cătălin Roman
Assistant referees: Marius Badea, Raul Constantin Ghiciulescu
Fourth official: Mihai Sebastian Laștun
VAR: Cătălin Sorin Popa
AVAR: Claudiu Marcu
Match observer: Cătălin Cursaru
Referee observer: Ioan Onicaș

Goalscorers: Eppel (5’); Armstrong (26’), Zandbergen (37’), Soro (45+1’).
Yellow cards: Pászka (82’); Pascual (65’).

FK Csíkszereda: Pap Eduard Adrian – Ódor Máté, Szabó Alex, Palmeș Raul Ioan, Trif Răzvan Alin (Araújo Lima Gabriel, 13’, then Kukovec Nino, 81’) – Pászka Lóránd (capt.) – Czékus Ádám, Horváth Artúr (Tajti Mátyás, 71’), Nyitra Szabolcs Zsolt (Tóth-Pál Előd, 81’), Stahl Albert Tivadar – Eppel Márton.
Head coach: Szabó István.

Dinamo Bucharest: Bellaarouch Alaa – Irimia David Mario (Opriș Ștefan Vasile, 89’), Pascual Castillo Martin, Stoinov Nikita, Opruț Raul Marian (capt.) – Armstrong Daniel Charles (Verreth Matthias, 71’), Soro Álvarez Alberto (Târba Ianis, 79’), Mărginean Iulius Andrei, Costa Pinto Diogo (Hintsa Oliver Endrias, 89’) – Zandbergen Dean Xylon, Karamoko Mamoudou (Mazilu Adrian, 79’).
Head coach: Carvalho Campos Nuno Alexandre.

Our team will next take to the pitch on Monday, 21 September, at 9:00 p.m., when we visit Petrolul in Ploiești in Round 10 of the Superliga regular season.

Rédai Attila
Photo: Pál Zoltán