The clash of the newcomers, FK Csíkszereda and Metaloglobus, produced an open, attractive match, but it ended in a draw that left neither side truly satisfied.
The clash of the newcomers, FK Csíkszereda and Metaloglobus, produced an open, attractive match, but it ended in a draw that left neither side truly satisfied.
Monday evening’s game began with a moment of silence in memory of former player and coach Florin Marin. This was also the round in which the captains of Superliga and Liga 2 teams wore armbands to draw attention to an initiative of the Romanian Football Federation: with its platform named by the acronym FRF BRAVO, the aim is to protect young footballers from traumatic remarks coming from the stands.
On the turf of the municipal stadium, both teams started cautiously, but then the visitors took the initiative, enjoyed more possession, and tried and shot more. Just after the first quarter of an hour, however, we managed to turn the first more dangerous chance into a goal: Anderson spotted Szalay breaking free on the left, and without controlling the ball, with a first-time strike, he scored a beautiful goal: 1–0. At the other end, Pap kept the team in the game at Milea’s attempts, our goalkeeper making two brilliant saves against the Metaloglobus midfielder. Anderson could have extended FK’s lead, but Gavrilaș also produced a fine save. Then came the 33rd minute, when David Irimia’s long-range shot, which seemed harmless, was deflected by Hegedűs, deceiving Pap: 1–1. Entering first-half stoppage time, we celebrated Bakos’s goal, who placed the ball very precisely at the base of the right post, but one of FK’s nemeses this season, VAR, managed to take this goal away as well for an almost imperceptible offside – if it was one at all.
The FK players did not get discouraged, and we only had to wait until the 53rd minute for another goal, one that VAR could not take away: Anderson’s right-sided corner was played according to a set-piece routine with Pászka, whose volley was on target, but Veres redirected it perfectly with his head into the net; our captain scored in his 125th match in FK colors: 2–1.
We had no reason to feel safe, however: in the 60th minute, after Anderson lost the ball, Zakir found himself in position, hitting only the post at that time, but then came the 69th minute, when our right-hand defense faltered, Fernandes crossed, Huiban headed towards goal, Pap saved it the first time, but on Zakir’s follow-up our keeper was helpless: 2–2.
In the closing stages of the match, Ilyés Róbert sent Dolný and Gergely into the battle, and both had favorable chances when they headed from close range, but neither of our strikers was accurate enough. In the last minutes, the visitors played tactically, meaning they ran down the clock significantly, and no more goals were scored.
The final result understandably did not draw thunderous applause from the stands, but the „Lokálpatrióták” fan group, once again present in large numbers, after singing the traditional Székely anthem, expressed their unconditional support for the team: a big thank you for that!
At the post-match press conference, both managers expressed their disappointment: the three points would have been important for both teams. As for Ilyés Róbert, he was mostly dissatisfied with the first-half performance. „I didn’t like the way we played in the first half, we lacked the right aggressiveness, we didn’t win the challenges, we were late in the duels. What annoys me the most is that, as much as we wanted this victory, that desire was not reflected in our play. In the second half we became more dynamic, we had our chances, but unfortunately, after a ball lost in midfield, they countered us and equalized, and from then on our game became tense again. I saw in the boys that everyone wanted it very much, but these negative things happening to the team, including VAR, eventually influenced the players’ performance, and sometimes maybe they also lack the necessary confidence. From this kind of open style of football that we play, perhaps we are missing that dirty cheekiness that many players in the Romanian championship have, and which makes them more effective. But we will not copy that, and I ask my players not to waste time, not to cheat, to be fair; if we lose, let’s do it with our heads held high, always trying to play football,” the head coach analyzed.
For FK Csíkszereda, the next test will follow on Saturday, when at 15:00 we will play away against UTA in Arad.
Superliga, regular season, round 10
FK Csíkszereda–Metaloglobus Bucharest 2–2 (1–1)
Miercurea Ciuc, municipal stadium, 1,950 spectators
Referees: Mladinovic Horia, Artene Mihai Ovidiu, Necula Mihăiță. Fourth official: Coza Ionuț
Goals: Szalay (17), Veres (53) / David Irimia (33), Zakir (69)
Yellow cards: Veres (24) / Camara (23), Achim (89), Ubbink (90+1)
FK Csíkszereda: Pap Eduard – Bloj Erwin, Hegedűs János, Palmeș Raul, Pászka Lóránd – Végh Bence (Dusinszki Szabolcs 79), Veres Szilárd, Anderson Ceara, Bakos Ervin (Gergely Alpár 79), Szalay Szabolcs (Szabó Bálint 64) – Eppel Márton (Dolný Jozef 64). Head coach: Ilyés Róbert
Metaloglobus: Gavrilaș George (Nedelcovici Cristian 46) – Sava Andrei (Neacșu Robert Cornel 34), Camara Aboubacar (Achim Florin 64), Caramalău George, Irimia David (Irimia Dragoș 56) – Milea Răzvan (Christ Koudadio 56), Sabater Tous Damia, Zakir Yassine, Huiban Dragoș – Fernandes Lopes, Ubbink Cornelis. Head coach: Teja Mihai Răzvan
Text: Rédai Attila
Photo: Pál Zoltán