FK Csíkszereda collected one point in Monday’s clash with Oțelul Galați, but nobody would have been surprised if Róbert Ilyés’s men had managed to take all three.

FK Csíkszereda collected one point in Monday’s clash with Oțelul Galați, but nobody would have been surprised if Róbert Ilyés’s men had managed to take all three.

In the home game of Superliga’s Round 8, it was in fact the visitors who were happier with the draw – a significant sign of our team’s growing strength in the top flight.
Another change was that coach Róbert Ilyés lined up his team in a 4-4-2 formation, already tested in the midweek Cup match that ended with eight goals scored. Then, just like now, Anderson stood out as the best player on the pitch and was named “man of the match” by the TV broadcast editors.

The first half-hour was dominated by home chances: Anderson’s free kick and Dolný’s shot tested the away keeper. Yet, Oțelul struck first in the 31st minute through Joao Paolo, left unmarked at a corner. In the 40th minute, Palmeș could have equalized but shot straight at the keeper from 11 meters. Two minutes later, Popescu denied Ferenczi’s thunderbolt from 25 meters, tipping it from under the crossbar.

The second half began just like the first ended, with FK pressing forward. In the 48th minute, Popescu tipped Dolný’s shot onto the bar, but moments later Anderson equalized with a brilliant move: a cheeky backheel trick to beat his marker, followed by a powerful strike over Popescu’s head from 17 meters – 1–1!

FK kept up the pressure, with Bödő, Dolný and Anderson again going close. In the 64th minute, Anderson beautifully set up Dolný, but the striker’s flick went over. With 20 minutes left, Dolný was clearly fouled in the box, but no penalty was given. In the 84th minute, Pap had to stop Patrick’s well-placed shot – Oțelul’s only real chance after the break. Despite numerous opportunities, we couldn’t find the winning goal, and in stoppage time we also lost Bödő to a red card after VAR review.

After the match, coach Róbert Ilyés said:
“We deserved more, in the second half a different team came out onto the pitch. We had some issues in the first half after switching from our three-defender system to 4-4-2, and that showed in midfield. We corrected these at halftime. I regret not winning, especially since I felt the crowd behind us, they were so enthusiastic, enjoying the play and the chances. But football is about goals, and it’s frustrating that we couldn’t crown this beautiful evening with a win.”

With this draw we earned our second point in Superliga, moving off the bottom of the table ahead of Metaloglobus (1 point). Round 8 will be followed by a two-week international break. In Round 9, on Sunday, September 14, at 21:00, we will face reigning champions FCSB, at their request, on our home ground, the Municipal Stadium.

Superliga, regular season, Round 8
FK Csíkszereda – Oțelul Galați 1–1
Referees: Găman George Cătălin (Craiova), Marinescu Vasile (Bucharest), Bobe Ionuţ Marius (Bucharest). Fourth official: Demetrescu Iuliana Elena (Râmnicu Vâlcea)
Scorers: Anderson (48’) / Joao Paolo (31’)
Yellow cards: Iacob (16’), Zivulic (54’), Lameira (70’) / Dolný (70’)
Red card: Bödő (90+1’)

Line-ups:
FK Csíkszereda: Pap Eduard – Bloj Erwin, Végh Bence, Palmeș Raul, Ferenczi János – Anderson Ceara (Jebari Soufiane 86’), Bödő Efraim, Veres Szilárd, Szabó Bálint (Szalay Szabolcs 76’) – Eppel Márton, Dolný Jozef (Csürös Attila 90+3’). Head coach: Róbert Ilyés

Oțelul: Popescu Alin Iustin – Zhelev Milen, Lopes (Soriano 46’), Iacob Paul Alexandru (Fernandes Ferreira Pedro Nuno 79’), Kazu (Ciobanu Virgil Andrei 26’), Zivulic Diego, Lameira, Joao Paolo – Bană Ștefan Daniel (Frunză Matei 79’), Andrezinho (Pereira Paulo Santios 54’), Fernandes Patrick. Head coach: László Bálint

Rédai Attila
Photo: Pál Zoltán