Strong representation of the University of Craiova tonight against CFR Cluj, score 2-0, in which the Juves showed why the specialists place them as favorites in the title fight. They also got rid of an uncomfortable opponent, they put on a show for the fans.
Fierce match, strong duels, he put his full foot on the ball, spitefully. The players did not care, because from both camps the idea was accredited that it is an essential confrontation in the economy of the fight for the title.
See HERE details about the 3rd stage of the Superleague play-off
Chronicle by Eduard Apostol. Craiova laughs and dances!
Craiova still remembers the shock of losing the championship in 2020 in the battle with CFR Cluj. He tried to take his opponent hard, but the “railwaymen” have something of Daniel Pancu's temperament, he doesn't get scared by one or two. Even though 20,000 Jews in the stands tried to intimidate their opponents and the referees.
CFR played annoyingly for the hosts, sometimes trying at the limit of regulation to cut off any attack. The residents of Craiova rushed to the area of the square, or inside, Al-Hamlawi (27) losing his temper and falling awkwardly when to resume decisively. Interesting how Matei took Keita out of the game, in touch, with a ball between the opponent's legs.
A spectacular 0-0 in the first half
In the other box, Aliev (28) created maximum panic, fine, with a restart that looked for the long corner, the ball going agonizingly past the bar. Pancone, too recalcitrant, narrowly avoided elimination in the 29th minute. Spirits heated up even more.
At the end of the first half, it was a duel of attrition that suited the guests perfectly. Lying in wait to deliver the decisive blow. The Oltenians had possession, clearly. Cicâldău (38) tried to surprise from a distance, quite far outside the box, sensing that otherwise… Popa brilliantly took the shot to power.
Then, the Cluj goalkeeper had a chance because he felt Anzor's shot late (41), only the Georgian and Craiova were hit by the bad luck of the crossbar. After that, Laurentiu Popescu (45) was colossal one on one in front of Cordea, who could see himself celebrating the goal. Very good first half, a lively, beautiful, round 0-0.
5 minutes of dream for Jews, total show on “Oblemenco”
The second half started with the same coordinates. On the second attempt, the “torpedo” of Anzor (56) reached its target. He shot from Tbilisi! With mathematical precision. At such a beautiful goal, the acacias went crazy!
Already at Al-Hamlawi's header (61) the world was on its feet and the people of Olten could see themselves celebrating in the streets in May. Mora's supercraft centering. Coelho allowed himself to take out the goalscorers, plus Etim, and threw Baiaram, Nsimba and Tudor Băluță into the fray. Force!
On the counterattack, Florin Ștefan (67) arrived – even he doesn't know how! – at the end, one on one, in the right lane, only the left defender of Olten could not kill the duel. He had another bullet on the barrel, two minutes later, from the left, “lace” parsive, but Popa took it out.
Craiova is facing the champion, CFR Cluj is not!
Matei (73) escaped in the central area and scored, but the joy was quickly extinguished, the goal being canceled due to offside. The University of Craiova gave a double blow: 1) 3 points that tied U Cluj in the standings, proving once again that it remains a serious candidate for the title, which does not break under the pressure of the standings and 2) got rid of an uncomfortable opponent, CFR Cluj, in the duel for supremacy.
While the Juves have demonstrated that they have reason to propose the event this season, the “railwaymen” from Gruia have limits, however. To see the next stage, U Cluj – Universitatea Craiova, next Monday, let's see who takes a serious option for 1st place, for the final duel.
Superliga play-off standings after 3 stages
FINAL » Craiova University – CFR Cluj 2-0
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Click HERE for more details and stats!
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Scored: Anzor 56, Assad 60
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19,754 spectators are at this match, of which 32 are guests
90th minute: Last change in Craiova! Enter Luca Băsceanu instead of David Matei. The game is extended by 5 minutes
87th minute: CFR Cluj balanced the match in the last minutes, in search of the goal that would restart the match, but Popescu kept its goals intact at the end of the game. The last 3 minutes before extra time
80th minute: Screciu bursts towards goal, with Nsimba to his left, but Matei Ilie blocks him near the center of the field
The 73rd minute: GOAL canceled for Craiova! David Matei scores for 3-0 on the counterattack, but the flag rises from the edge and the success of the kid from Olten is cancelled. The phase is analyzed in VAR for more than a minute and a half, from where the irregular position is confirmed. The score remains 2-0. The last 15 minutes of regular time
69th minute: Craiova remains on the attack and continues to put pressure on Cluj's goal even though it is two floors higher in the table compared to its opponents. Florin Ștefan dispatches, and Mihai Popa intervenes. The same Florin Ștefan remains in possession of the ball and crosses perfectly for David Matei, in the “mouth” of the goal, but he misses meeting the ball
67th minute: Nsimba and Florin Ștefan advance towards Cluj's goal, and the latter sends dangerously in search of the 3-0 goal, but the guests can breathe a sigh of relief. Even so, with two goals in front on the table, Craiova still has the initiative
60th minute: GOAL Craiova!Goal Assad Al-Hamlawi! CFR does not blame the goal and concedes another shot after only five minutes. Mora crosses flawlessly into the box for Assad, and he with his head, between two opponents, rises and does not waste the chance to make it 2-0. Madness in Banie, the whole stadium is on its feet
Minute 56: GOAL Craiova! Goal Anzor Mekvabishvili! Olteni unlock the scoreboard in Bănie, after several minutes in which they dominated copiously. Assad, on the left, turns spectacularly with his heel for Florin Ștefan, and the ball ends up deflected to Anzor, who caught a formidable, manual shot, from 25 meters, on foot, without any hope for Mihai Popa
Minute 50: Mihai Popa is wasting time and is warned by Bîrsan with a yellow card 5 minutes after the break
Minute 49: Olteni also start the second half in attack, and Mora sends a dangerous shot from the first, with which he tries to surprise Popa, but the ball does not create problems
Minute 46: Start in the second half from the score of 0-0. Only one change at the break of the match, in the CFR Cluj camp! Marian Huja leaves the field, Matei Ilie enters
Break in Banie! The score is 0-0 after the first 45 minutes of play, at the end of a half clearly dominated by the Olteni, who, however, did not find the way to the goal.
Minute 45: Noise in Bănie fixed before the break and contrary to the course of the game. Against the backdrop of Craiova's dominance, Cordea sees Popescu coming out and shoots, but the hosts' goalkeeper intervenes and removes the danger. Cluj's first shot on goal. The first half is extended by at least one minute
Minute 41: Craiova pressed at the end of the first part, but the tracer sent by Anzor “bites” the bar and stretches Mihai Popa, and CFR breathes after a new, extremely complicated phase. The table remains 0-0, despite the insistence of Olten
Minute 40: David Matei combines with Mora on the right side, the “under” of Olten struggles and keeps the ball, which he sends into the box, but the cross for Etim has no finality
The 38th minute: Another chance for Olten to open the scoring in Bănie, after a combination with Etim on the left side, but Cicâldău's shot, from a distance, is rejected in front of Mihai Popa
Minute 34: Carlos Mora takes an action on his own, advances with the ball at his feet, but Cluj blocks his very good cross in the box. The Oltenians remain in attack and immediately receive a free kick, after the same Mora is stepped on
28th minute: The tension increases in Banie! Daniel Pancu is extremely unhappy on the sidelines, protests and sees the yellow card from Bîrsan
Minute 27: At the other goal, in the next phase, Biliboc sends from an angle for Alibek Aliev, and the ball “leaks” millimeter in front of the goal line, without entering
Minute 26: Big chance wasted by Olteni in the middle of the first half. Matei sends very well for Cicâldău, who accelerates in the right lane and sends excellently to the point from 11 meters, where he sees Assad. However, the Palestinian slips right at the moment of meeting the ball and misses the chance to shoot from an ideal position
18th minute: Carlos Mora sends in a powerful shot from distance that looks off target, but Braun steps in and clears for a corner. From the fixed phase, CFR has emotions, but Abeid intervenes to the rescue. Increases the pressure at the gate of Cluj
Minute 15: The Oltenians dominate the start of this match and at the end of the first quarter of an hour they also have the possession advantage on their side, 65%. Coelho's students press and try to build, but without creating any great opportunity to move the scoreboard
Minute 12: Etim burst into the left lane, took the lead alone, but Sinyan blocked and cleared the danger from Mihai Popa's legs
Minute 9: After an incandescent start to the match, the situation calmed down in Banie. Craiova seemed to have the initiative, but CFR balanced the balance
Minute 5: Keita sees the first yellow card of the match
Minute 3: First “hot” sequences in Bănie, the public puts a lot of pressure on the railwaymen. The Oltenians benefit from the first free kick, but the ball sent by Anzor is stuttered in the box and rejected by the Cluj
Start of the game in Banie in the match that ends the 3rd stage of the Superleague play-off! Craiova must win to return to first place. If CFR Cluj wins, it will tie the blue-white formation at 33. Nice atmosphere on “Oblemenco”, about 20,000 fans present
The starting teams at Craiova University – CFR Cluj
Craiova University (3-4-3): I. Popescu – Romanchuk, Ad. Rus, Screciu (capt.) – Mora, Cicâldău, Anzor, Fl. Ștefan – D. Matei, Al Hamlawi, Etim
reserves: S. Lung, Glodean, Stefanovic, Balelj, Teles, Houri, Al. Crețu, L. Băsceanu, Baiaram, Nsimba, D. Barbu, T. Băluță
Absent: Bancu (suspended), Isenko, M. Rădulescu (injured)
Coach: Filipe Coelho
CFR Cluj (4-2-3-1): M. Popa – Braun, Sinyan, Huja, Abeid – Muhar (capt.), T. Keita – Cordea, Korenica, Biloboc, Aliev
reserves: Vâlceanu, Gal, Camora, Kun, M. Ilie, Djokovic, Deac, Ad. Păun, A. Fica, Şfaiț, Kamara, Zahovic
Absent: Rocha, Omerue, Masic (injured)
Coach: Daniel Pancu
Stadium: “Ion Oblemenco” – Craiova
Referee: Marcel Bîrsan, A1: Radu Ghinguleac, A2: Mircea Grigoroiu
VAR referee: Rareș Vidican, miser: Vasile Marinescu, R1: Cristian Moldoveanu
Observer: Augustus Constantine
UPDATE at 20:10 » Gică Craioveanu, optimistic before the match
About 20 minutes before kick-off he arrived at the stadium and Gică Craioveanu, extremely optimistic. However, he believes that this match will be decisive for Olteni in the fight for the title.
“Tonight, it depends, if we win we are champions. That's what I think. I'm not afraid of the two teams from Cluj, I'm only afraid of us,” said Grande, upon arriving at the stadium.
UPDATE at 19:07 » CFR Cluj also arrived at the stadium
For the guests, Korenica was the first to get off the bus, and Pancu was the last. Daniel hugged Sorin Cârțu who just then came to the stadium.
UPDATE at 19:02 » Craiova arrived at the stadium
Ștefan Baiaram was the first to get off the bus, applauded by two children. Coelho made it all the way to the locker room, then turned around and hugged Daniel Tudor, the goalkeeping coach suspended for this match. Tudorica is highly appreciated by the people of Olteni.
UPDATE 18:15 » The lawn on “Ion Oblemenco” is in excellent condition
More than two hours before the match between Craiova University and CFR Cluj, the lawn is in excellent condition. Those at the stadium are making the final preparations so that everything goes exactly as it should. 20,000 people are expected in Banie.
