FC Arges and Rapidthe last two placed in the play-off, meet NOW, in a duel counting for the penultimate stage of the play-off. The duel from Mioveni started at 20:30 and is liveTEXT on GSP.ro and live on Prima Sport 1 and Digi Sport 1.
With tiny chances to catch the 4th place, the one that secures the “dam” of the Conference, the people from Giulești are trying to wash their reputation of a play-off with catastrophic accents. Without a win since March 14, Rapidul plays on FC Argeș's field and only a win keeps it in the hypothetical calculations for the fourth position, currently occupied by Dinamo.
LIVE. FC Arges – Rapid 0-2
FC Argeș – Rapid, the starting teams:
FC Arges Pitesti: Straton – Tofan, Tudose, Sadriu, Borța – Rădescu, Rață, Blagaic – Idowu, Matos, Bettaieb
Reserves: Căbuz, L. Crăciun, Briceag, Brobbey, Emmers, A. Manole, I. Moldovan, Oancea, Y. Pîrvu, Seto, Sierra
Coach: Bogdan Andone
Rapid Bucharest: Aioani – Onea, D. Ciobotariu, Pașcanu, Sălceanu – Christensen, K. Keita, Grameni – Moruțan, D. Paraschiv, Borza
reserves: Briciu, Šimonia, D. Todoran, Burmaz, M. Costache, Hazrollaj, Hromada, Koljic, A. Şucu, A. Dobre
Coach: Constantin Galca
Stadium: Townspeople, Mioveni
Referee: George Cătălin Roman (Timișoara) / A1: Alexandru Filip (Constanța) / A2: Ionuț Traian Neacșu (Bucharest) / VAR Referee: Horia Mladinovici (Bucharest) / AVAR Referee: Andrei Antonie (Bucharest) / R1: Cătălin Busi (Râmnicu Vâlcea) / Referees Observer: Corneliu Fecioru (Bucharest)
Alex Dobre, the team's captain for much of this season, starts on the bench. Borza was started on the left side of the attack, an unusual position for a defender.
UPDATE. 17:45: Rapid has the team decimated for the match with FC Argeș
Big batch problems for Costel Gâlcă before the match with Argeș. The coach has no less than 8 absentees.
The unlucky “on duty” of this play-off, the people from Pitesti have their own stake: after an endless string of games lost in extra time, the white-violets are looking for their second victory in the play-offswhich would propel them up to 5th place, over tonight's opponent.
It's the last seasonal appearance of the Argesans in front of their own fans. From the newly-promoted position, the group from Trivale overturned the calculations of the specialists: it qualified for the play-offs and reached the semi-finals of the Cup, but the last results caused disillusionment among the fans.
In the round, the game between the two ended in a tie, score 0-0.
Real-time play-off standings
Bogdan Andone wants victory in the last “home” match of the current season: “Let's enjoy this extraordinary season together with the supporters”
This is how Bogdan Andone, the “purple eagles” technician, prefaced the game:
“It will be the last home game of the season. We will have to have an aggressive approach, a positive attitude and win the game, because it would be extremely nice to enjoy at the end of the game, together with the supporters, this extraordinary season of the team.
That is precisely why we must be very well prepared physically, mentally prepared, from all points of view, and approach the game with only one thought, that of winning”, said Andone, according to arges-sport.ro.
“We will have to be very well motivated, very well prepared, mentally first of all, as an attitude. To force them to make mistakes, to put them under pressure all the time and we will have to make an extremely high effort. We have to treat the game as a final because I really want to win the last game at home.
Regardless of the team's problems or the situation the opposing team is going through at the moment, [Rapid] it is a team with DNA, with extremely valuable players. Those who are valuable and will play can make the difference at any moment of the game through a personal execution”, added the coach of the Pitesti team.
Andone is saddened by the way the team handled the end of last Sunday's game with Dinamo:
“The main message? What message can we say but that we are the biggest fools, here starting with me! Because it's the fifth game, I think the fourth in a row, with a late game loss in overtime. Absolutely all of us, starting with me, are the fools of fools, that we are not able to handle these game moments.
(…) It passed. The match with Rapid is important, being the last one at home this season, which we will have to manage to win.
We must be more responsible, each one for his part, and for what he has to do in the field, as it was throughout the regular season, for the most part, and the start of the playoffs. Of course, let's perhaps have more inspiration in the offensive phase, in the decision or in the completion, because we also got into good situations. Even at Dinamo, at 1-1, we had an extraordinarily big situation”, said the 51-year-old technician, according to the cited source.
I said it all the time, I also conveyed it to the boys: for me, 6th place is a failure, no matter that we are in the play-offs, no matter that we also played good matches, maybe even very good ones, in this play-off. We have to do our best to finish at least 5th this season and this game is basically capital. It's like a final.
– Bogdan Andone, FC Argeș coach
Costel Gâlcă talks about restoring morale: “Three points would help us gain more confidence”
In Thursday's conference, Costel Gâlcă, the white-cherries technician, spoke about the weak form of the team, but also about the importance of the match with FC Argeș.
“This match is important for us, because we haven't won in many stages, we didn't look good, and in the last match in Cluj we didn't manage to send a ball into the goal area. If we can get the 3 points in this game, it would be an opportunity to gain a lot more confidenceeven if we didn't finish the championship as we expected.
For me it's important that we go in and prove and be able to win, because it's important. We have very little chance of reaching the play-offs, we didn't look good in the play-offs, so we can only think about winning this game and the next one if possible.”
(…) “I really want every game to go in with attitude and win every game, but, as I said, there are many players who could have been starters, they are not and it is very difficult. I had many injuries. Injuries come from before, the club knows very well, I told them many times, I told them last year too. If the decision was made to continue like this, it is very difficult and now you can see the result”, Gâlcă said.
We must get a win against Argeș, we need it. It's probably a mental problem, because when we entered the play-offs we won the first game and we were talking about the title, we were very close. After that it was and still is a more difficult time at Rapid, where I lost quite a few matches, and I think that's where the problem is, mentally. A win would help us.
As long as there is a chance for the dam, we are fighting for it. We have to give as much as possible on the field and if we get two wins, otherwise if we go to the playoffs or not, we do what depends on us. I understand the reactions of the fans because we haven't had very good results, but with a win I think we bring them back to us and I hope so.
– Robert Sălceanu, Rapid left defender
