Politehnica receives on Sunday the visit of newly promoted CSA Steaua in the 15th round of League 2. The white-violet hope to tie positive results and improve their record in the standings.

“A difficult game awaits us. We are two teams with diametrically opposed goals. On the one hand we, who want to win, accumulate points, are very important to move away from the dangerous area of the standings. On the other hand, we meet an opponent fighting for one of the top six places. They lost the game with Universitatea Cluj, they are only three points behind the main chasers, Metaloglobus and Csikszereda, and, like us, the three points at stake are very important for them“, said Nicolae Croitoru, Politehnica’s head coach.

The coach wants the psychological effect of the success in Brasov to be visible against CSA Steaua: “We hope and I think that this can be seen on Sunday, during the game”. “Unfortunately we have a rather difficult schedule, because every time we are forced to meet opponents who come after a series of very difficult games and, as a rule, very hungry for points. Steaua is one of the good teams of the series, a very experienced team. With players who have accumulated a lot of experience, such as Popa, Bărbulescu, Wallace, Beța, Huiban, Buhăescu… They also have a very good coach. It’s a team with an aggressive game, a positive aggressiveness, coupled with attack. It will be a very difficult game from that point of view. A team that develops a very good speed in the attacking phase and very well organized defensively,” Croitoru added. They regret that the match will not be watched from the stadium by Viola supporters: “We certainly know the rivalry with Steaua and I think that the presence of the supporters in the stands would have been an advantage for us“.

Goalkeeper George Păduraru also spoke about Sunday’s important game: “We are aware that on Sunday we will meet a good team of the championship, which is fighting for entry into the play-off. But it’s a derby and we will certainly be more motivated“.

“We needed this win, we needed it, we were playing a good game, but the results weren’t coming, we also had bad luck. Now it’s good, it’s a nice atmosphere, we are ready for Sunday’s game“, said “Forest” about the effect of the success under the Tâmpa. In the match against FC Brasov, the goalkeeper, originally from Botosani, added an assist to his account, a first-time achievement as he confessed.

The 26-year-old goalkeeper is also sorry that the fans will not have access to this Poli – Steaua: “Very much, I know that it is an important match for them as well as for us. I’ve been in Timisoara for 11 years and I’ve learned about the importance of this game for them. I will be happy if I will play in such a match, even if it is League 2, even if there are no supporters, it is a very nice and important match“.

The situation of the blue and white has improved this week from a medical point of view. Cătălin Oanea and goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares are training normally. However, Adrian Zaluschi will definitely be absent due to a number of cautions.

The match between Politehnica Timișoara and CSA Steaua will be played on Sunday 28 November at 12.00 (televised by Digisport 1, Looksport + and Telekom Sport 1) at the “Dan Păltinișanu” arena. Our team has accumulated 14 points and is in 15th place in League 2, while the Red and Blue are in 6th place with 25 points, also after 14 games played.

UPDATE The public has again access to the stadiums, within the limit of 30% of capacity. More information HERE.