Politehnica Timișoara faces Rapid in the knockout stages of the competition, after last season the two teams were rivals in the fight for the elite. Unfortunately, tomorrow night’s game at the “Dan Paltinișanu” arena will be played without spectators.

“A very difficult game awaits us, we meet a team from League I. Rapid has had a very good season so far, with appreciated games, even the latest developments, especially the game against CFR Cluj, a special match. Unfortunately, we come after a defeat that still hurts, it worries us, but it’s the Romanian Cup, we hope first of all to live up to expectations, we hope to play a good game, we are aware that we start with a second chance, but it’s an opportunity for each player to show that he has value. To show that they have the quality to aspire to more“, said Nicolae Croitoru, Politehnica’s head coach.

“We have a tough match ahead of us, we meet one of the best teams in League I. A team that has shown that it has value, has brought important players, national players. But we have to see to our game, try to rise to their level and get out of this pass we’re in now, a bad pass, but maybe with this Cup game we can get out of here and pick up points in the championship, because we’re very low in the championship and that’s not where we belong. Even though I think the game isn’t that bad, but points count and we’re sitting badly in the standings. I don’t know what we have to do, but we have to pull ourselves together and be tougher, more responsible on the pitch, to think that we are playing for Poli, to think that this city supports us and to do more than we have done so far,” said Ioan Mera, captain of the white-violet team.

“I wanted this match to be with a public, because there are two galleries, which are twinned – we are a club loved by Rapid and vice versa – I would have liked it to be with galleries in the stands because that way you feel you are playing football. That’s probably how a game like a friendly is, you can’t hear anything from the stands and it’s bad for us. That’s how I feel. I would prefer to have both Rapid’s gallery and our gallery at this match, but unfortunately we have to play without spectators,” added the defender in reference to the absence of the public. “It’s a motivating factor, for sure, the spectator audience, and especially the two galleries“, Nicolae Croitoru also stressed.

As for the supporters’ complaints, especially after the last match, Ioan Mera concluded: “They are 100% right, because the results are not on our side and they really wanted us to be up there again this year, where we got them used to. I hope we can win without them, but I don’t think that’s a solution, to win without the spectators and the gallery coming to the games. It would be the height to score points without them now, it means we don’t like to play under pressure. We like to play like this: like in the schoolyard, and maybe it works out better for us. It would mean we can’t play under pressure. I wouldn’t want it to be like that.”

Our team is still dealing with medical absences. Striker Sebastian Serediuc is expected to return to training in a week or 14 days, while Cătălin Oanea has become unavailable for quite a long period. “He suffered a fibrillary tear at the end of the warm-up for the game against Ripensia, he will be absent for four to six weeks. For us it is a loss, he was an important player, who at this moment was at a good level and we needed him, unfortunately we have to find solutions“, said Nicolae Croitoru about the situation of the left defender.

The match between Politehnica Timișoara and Fotbal Club Rapid 1923 SA will be played tomorrow, 28 October, at 21.00, in the Romanian Cup final round, at the “Dan Păltinișanu” stadium. The match will be played without public access, according to the new pandemic restrictions that have come into force. The game is televised by Digisport 1, Telekom Sport 1 and Look Sport +.