The two Székelyland teams played out an attractive and evenly contested match in their first-ever meeting in the Romanian top flight. The Székely derby lived up to the expectations of a true football celebration, both in the stands and on the pitch.
The two Székelyland teams played out an attractive and evenly contested match in their first-ever meeting in the Romanian top flight. The Székely derby lived up to the expectations of a true football celebration, both in the stands and on the pitch.
István Szabó’s side produced a strong first half and a less convincing second period against Sepsi OSK, resulting in what could be considered a fair goalless draw on the pitch of a packed Miercurea Ciuc Municipal Stadium. Pleasant summer evening weather and two loud sets of supporters trying to outdo one another created a special atmosphere at a match from which perhaps neither side could feel they had emerged as losers.
Before kick-off, the two sets of supporters came together in a spirit of brotherhood to sing Nélküled, a song well known from Hungarian stadiums. After the final whistle, they joined together once again for the Székely anthem. These were moving moments on a memorable evening for Hungarian sporting life in Transylvania.
During the first half, one of the visiting supporters fell ill in the stands but quickly received medical assistance. It soon emerged that, fortunately, the incident had no lasting consequences, and the supporter was able to rejoin the rest of the group and continue cheering on the team.
The first half produced the greater number of dangerous attempts, and the quality of the chances perhaps tipped the balance slightly in favour of the hosts. We came close to opening the scoring as early as the third minute, when a defender blocked Attila Csürös’s close-range attempt. In the ninth minute, Răzvan Trif found space to shoot on the left, but David Lazăr saved his long-range effort.
Sepsi had to wait until the 14th minute for their first opportunity, when Hunor Batzula fired over from 16 metres following a one-two. Eight minutes later, Márton Eppel got his head to Ádám Czékus’s cross from the right, but the ball flashed across the face of goal.
The visitors created the biggest chance of the match up to that point in the 25th minute. Dimitri Oberlin tried his luck from seven metres, but Eduard Pap produced a superb save to deny him from close range. Three minutes later, we threatened again: following Máté Ódor’s cross, Eppel directed a downward header towards goal from 11 metres, but Lazăr was able to save.
In the 31st minute, Setigui Karamoko met a corner first time with the inside of his right foot from nine metres, but Pap, who was later named Player of the Match, pushed the effort away. We then put the visitors’ goal under increasing pressure towards the end of the half. In the 44th minute, Szilárd Veres’s long-range strike crashed against the crossbar before Eppel sent the rebound over. A minute later, Trif struck a fine left-footed volley from the corner of the penalty area, narrowly missing the target.
We also had an opportunity in first-half stoppage time, when Lazăr could only tip Lóránd Pászka’s free-kick from around 30 metres behind for a corner. Although we had come closer to scoring in the opening period, the teams therefore went into the interval with the score still 0–0.
After the change of ends, Sepsi OSK gained a measure of control, while our team were no longer able to dictate the match to the same extent as in the first half. In the 54th minute, Doru Andrei shot over from 20 metres. Then, in the 72nd minute, substitute Raul Cîmpean’s long-range attempt was deflected off one of our defenders and went behind for a corner.
Three minutes later, Funsho Bamgboye met a cross from the left with a close-range header, but his effort lacked power and Pap gathered comfortably. There were more dangerous moments in front of our goal in the 77th minute, but our defence eventually managed to clear the danger.
Neither side could find a winner during the closing stages, meaning the first Székely derby in the top flight ended goalless. The point brought our four-match losing run to an end, while we also kept our first clean sheet of the current league season.
At the post-match press conference, István Szabó began by wishing the supporter who had fallen ill a speedy recovery.
“Human health is the most important thing of all, so I would like to wish the spectator who fell ill a speedy recovery. Secondly, I congratulate both teams because they played a genuine Székely derby in the first division. It was moving for me to see the affection and respect the supporters showed one another after the match. We applauded the opposition fans, who were also encouraging towards us, and they applauded us in return. It was a hard but sporting match that both teams wanted to win,” said our head coach.
István Szabó felt that our team had been closer to victory in the first half but could not produce the same level of performance after the interval.
“I think we perhaps did more to win the match in the first half. We had some big chances, although our opponents also created opportunities. In the second half, however, we could not produce the same football or control the match to the same extent. With that in mind, I consider the draw a fair result,” the head coach explained.
According to our head coach, the team have made progress defensively, and the next task is to become more effective in the attacking third.
“I believe we have put our defensive game in order. That is obviously not only about the work of the back four or a five-man defensive unit, but the collective effort of the entire team. We also had more moves in the attacking areas last week and managed to score goals. What I want to see now, particularly over the longer term, is more touches in the attacking third and more of our players arriving in front of goal inside the penalty area. That, however, requires time,” he added.
István Szabó also spoke about the atmosphere inside the sold-out Municipal Stadium, describing it as an uplifting experience for him.
“Everything that happened in the stands was certainly moving for me. Even in Hungary, I never tire of emphasising how deeply the Hungarian people living here love their homeland, their people and their identity. There is nothing else I can say: it was an uplifting feeling to experience it. We thank all those who support us for backing the team in this way and for making it clear after the match that this is the attitude they expect from us. If they see this kind of determination and fighting spirit on the pitch, we will receive the applause we deserve,” our head coach concluded.
The Red and Blacks will play their next match in Bucharest on 20 August, the feast day of King Saint Stephen. We face Steaua at the Ghencea Stadium from 17:30 in the Romanian Cup play-off round. Our next SuperLiga fixture will take place away to FC Botoșani on Monday, 24 August, kicking off at 18:30.
SuperLiga, regular season, Round 5
FK Csíkszereda–Sepsi OSK 0–0
15 August 2026, 18:30
Miercurea Ciuc Municipal Stadium, attendance: 2,250
Referee: Chivulete Andrei Florin
Assistant referees: Neacșu George Florin, Necula Mihăiță
Fourth official: Moroiță Andrei
VAR: Dima Iulian
AVAR: Mitruți Daniel
Match observer: Ralea Eugen
Referee observer: Colțescu Sebastian Constantin
Bookings: Veres (50), Tóth-Pál (68); Păun (61), Bamgboye (88).
FK Csíkszereda: Pap Eduard – Trif Răzvan, Csürös Attila, Szabó Alex, Palmeș Raul – Pászka Lóránd, Veres Szilárd (Magyar Zsolt, 87) – Tóth-Pál Előd (Bota Darius, 71), Czékus Ádám (Stahl Albert, 80), Ódor Máté – Eppel Márton (Dolny Jozef, 80). Head coach: Szabó István.
Sepsi OSK: Lazăr David Beniamin – Cascardo de Assis Gustavo (Vătăjelu Bogdan Ilie, 80), Vîrtej Daniel Alexandru (Rose Lindsay Marc, 27), Karamoko Setigui Guillaume, Freitas Vianna Fabio André (Oțeliță Bogdan Florin, 80) – Silaghi Robert Mihai (Cîmpean Raul Daniel, 58), Andrei Doru Cristian, Batzula Hunor Szabolcs (Păun Nicolae Ionuț, 58) – Bamgboye Funsho Ibrahim, Mawa Moses Dramwi, Oberlin Dimitri Joseph. Head coach: Ovidiu Burcă.
Rédai Attila
Photo: Pál Zoltán