Needing to make up for a two-goal deficit after the second leg (0-2) at the sold-out “Electrica”, Politehnica Timișoara did not start the second leg of the final for a place in League 2 against CSM Olimpia Satu Mare. Fabian Marincu opened the scoring and set the score at half-time (1-0), but the white-violets were caught on the wrong foot in the end, when they were trying to equalize the overall situation. The visitors scored twice to win 2-1, 4-1 on aggregate.

In a heated atmosphere, literally and figuratively, the opening minutes were not very spectacular. The first dangerous signals at the visitors’ goal came in the 21st and 24th minutes. Militaru sent wide, while Marincu’s ball hit teammate Istratie in the box. At the other goal Mosoarcă conceded a corner from Mustacă’s long-range effort (22 mins).

Poli opened the scoring in the 37th minute when Pureca found Fabian Marincu on the edge of the box, the young captain of the white-violet took the ball inside and shot towards goal, the ball was deflected behind Copaci to the left of the wrong-footed Maxim. After this success the decibel level and the pressure on the Sătram goal increased.

Although they went on the attack in the second half, our team failed to capitalize on a notable opportunity in the 58th minute, when Marincu sent an indirect kick from the Sătramara team’s penalty area into the cross, but also wide of the target corner. CSM Olimpia hit on the counterattack. First in the 66th minute, when Zamfir was found in the lane and made it 1-1 with a shot to Mosoarcă’s left. And in the end, after Istratie’s (78) header from the box and Radu Ciurel’s (90) chances, the last one being downright huge. CSM Olimpia closed the game in the second minute of extra time, when Chinde finished from Hosu’s pass in front of goal.

Despite the setback and disappointment, the white-violets were applauded at the end for their efforts throughout the season in which they were given little chance of reaching even this stage of the competition.

Politehnica Timisoara: Mosoarcă – Amariei (73, Nagy), D. Roșu (73, Rotariu), Vlaicu, R. Ciurel – Pureca, Militaru (75, Avramescu) – Marincu (captain), Popa, D. Ciurel (85, Mihăescu) – Istratie. On the bench: Enășescu – Miclăuș, Tătaru, Huminic and Lazăr. Coach: Cristian Gălan.

CSM Olimpia Satu Mare: Maxim – Todoran, Diomande (81, Negru), Copaci, Oanea (captain) – Lucaci – Santa, Calugher, Văsălie (75, Zsiga), Mustacă (46, Chinde) – Zamfir (87, Hosu). On the bench: Văduva – Csatari, Al. Pop, Corodan and R. Prodan. Coaches: Zoltan Ritli and Alexandru Botoș.

“Until halftime we played, we put pressure on the opponent, maybe we didn’t have the most spectacular game, but we had a pretty aggressive game, so to say, with the ball and without the ball, and we managed to put the opponent in a couple of situations to have problems. We also scored. All in all we didn’t play a bad game, we played a good game. But the last few minutes remain, where we conceded the two goals and history was written in the end.

We could have done more in the first half in Satu Mare. Today, I think we could have done more in the second half, to have more consistency in the game, because they already somehow got into their own third … but we must still think that our players are of a certain age and consistency is not their trump card at the moment. We compensate with other things, with dedication, with creativity at times, with the very good attitude we have in every second of the game. That’s probably why we’ve got to this point. During this year we have met very good teams,” said Cristian Gălan, head coach of Politehnicii.

On the appreciation received from the opponent: “We thank them for the appreciation, they also played a very good game at their home. Today they probably came with different thoughts, not to lose the game itself and then they approached a different tactic. All in all the two games were very nice. The one today and the one in Satu Mare. People had nothing to lose, those who were at the stadium. I can also say that the atmosphere was great in the stadium today, incredible! I think it would be nice to be able to bring so many people to the stadium from now on and to have such a nice atmosphere“.

“We had different goals when we came together than what we have achieved, in inverted commas, so to speak, I think this year we are maybe beyond what we thought at the beginning…

We took this championship stage by stage, we didn’t go that far to think about what we were going to do from the summer. What I know is that now we’re going to go to lunch together, we’re going to have lunch, we’re going to try to lick our wounds, so to speak, and then we’ll see what we do in the following days. Right now we don’t have anything set.

Well, I think the first one would be: excitement, the second – emulation, the third – enthusiasm (the words that would characterize the season). I think those words have been part of us all season. It hasn’t been easy, we’ve had games that we’ve lost right here at home to teams maybe that we don’t expect to win 2-3-4-5 to nothing, you wonder what the scores are, and then it’s been a merry-go-round of emotions all season. But I think for those of us who have participated this season, I think we have gained some very useful experience for future seasons. Definitely in fact,” said among other things the coach of the White-White and Blue.

For medical reasons Poli could not rely on the services of Prună and Boariu for this game.

“Today we have a formidable group of players and I strongly believe in their power to progress more and more, I think that was our trump card. From the first friendly to today we look totally different. And we knew that, that in the course of our development we were going to grow and we were counting on that for the higher phases of the competition and as proof of that we really looked different from the beginning. They are admirable. I said it to them in front of the pitch, I said it to them in the dressing room, I say it to them now: they are admirable for the way they have worked, for the way they have adapted to what I ask them to do. I don’t know if it’s the easiest things or maybe it’s the simplest things, but they have adapted very well throughout this year. As a proof we are here, today we played this game, where I don’t know if a lot of people expected us to get to“, Cristian Gălan, head coach Politehnica Timisoara

Photo: Paul Sebo