Article by Cosmin Nistor – Published on Sunday, 03 May 2026, 21:24 / Updated on Sunday, 03 May 2026 21:28
Petrolul and UTA finished tied, score 1-1in the 7th stage of the play-out, in a match decided at the end of the game. At the end of the game, the coach of Ploiești, Mehmet Topal, drew conclusions and spoke about the evolution of his team, but also about the chances at the end of the season.
A foul committed by David Ciubăncan in his own box in the 90th + 3rd minute gave Gicu Grozav the chance to equalize in extra time and save a point for Ploiești.
Mehmet Topal, after Petrolul – UTA 1-1: “We don't sit around crying like a child”
“We're definitely happy with a point and I'm happy with how the players came out in attack. We made some mistakes that shouldn't have happened and lost some balls very easily.
We had to take risks, we made some changes and found the goal. Maybe this point will be an advantage for us in the last two stages. If we want to get out of the red zone, we have to win the last two matches”, said Mehmet Topal, according to digisport.ro.
The technician also emphasized the lack of lucidity of his team in the decisive moments:
“If we were more intelligent, we would certainly have found more opportunities to score. We were in a big hurry, but luck was also with us. It's very normal for there to be close matches, but it's important to fight until the end of the match.”
“In matches like this there is a lot of stress and the players try to do a lot more. We also understand the fans' frustration, but whatever happens it is important that they are with us. We wanted to bring three points to the fans, but we don't sit around crying like a child, we have two more games. Everyone has to give everything.”
The ranking from the Superliga play-out
