Romania - Liga 1 - Astra Ploiesti vs Universitatea Cluj

Astra Ploiesti

Selymes puts pressure on his team before the game against Cluj: ”We have to win, it doesn’t matter how, but we have to obtaon those 3 points. I think that Universitatea is an opponent with a game style that suites us, it comes to play, passes.”

Tibor Selymes blames fatigue and the rhythm in which his team had to play for the three games in which they didn’t manage to score and obtained only 1 point out of 9. He accused that the size of the lot is too small, so every time there were suspensions or injuries it ment also changes:” I madenew mistakes, the kind that I wouln’t normally do like big distances between lines, individual mistakes and organizational”. The technician started to form conclusions regarding who is going to leave and who is going to come in the summer:”For sure there will be players who will leave, and we hope to replace them. I think that Sunday our owner will leave for Portugal to watch some players and soon I think I will join him because if we want to win the European Cups we have to get stronger.

Selymes announced that „GK Bogdan Mon will have his chance, this is something we established from the begining, when a 1st team player makes a big mistake, we will use the other one.” This way Grigore will pay for his mistake in the game against Tg Mures when he received a goal that he could have easily defended.

Another problem in the defensive line is represented by the absence of Goian; he is suspended for receiving 10 warnings and will stay one round at every yellow card recieved. Other 6 players are only a warning away from suspension: N’Doye, Miranda, Tigoianu, Oprsal, Fatai and Stratil. Goian’s replacement is Oprsal and he will play besides Mihalache, a couple of central defenders without problems. For the middle line, there is the same dilemma as aways, the left player - probably this is going to be Alexandru Stan, while Tigoianu and Paulihno will be substitutes.

Probable team: B.Miron - Matel, Mihalache, Oprsal, Maranhao - Stratila, Seto, N'Doye, Al.Stan - Fatai, Miranda; Coach: Tibor Selymes; Injured: Budescu, Gussev, Nogo; Suspended: L.Goian; Substitutes: C.Grigore, Tigana?u, Croitoru, Paulinho, Ben Teekloh, Tigoianu, Rusu

Astra Ploiesti played at Tg Mures as bad as it did in the match against Pandurii and hoped for a 0-0. It lost in front of Pandurii, score 0-1 and the scenario repetead itself in the game with FCM so the dreams of qualifying for the Europa League have shattered. Astra is passing through a rouf period, it managed to obtin only 1 point out of 9 in their last three matches. This season it has no more objectives, it is far from the Eurpean Cups and far from relegation so all the games that follow are without a stake, only for record. After the failure from the first part of the championship the team hopes to take advantage of its own court.

Universitatea Cluj

Universitatea Cluj lost the game with Timisoara (1-2), a game that changed the team from 1st place of Liga 1, and coach Ionut Badea will want to revenge that loss with a win in the away game played at Ploiesti. "We meet a team that works a lot in their games. We don't think about the loss at Timisoara, we think that 5 difficult matches await us and we would want to win at least 9 points", anounced Badea.

Adrian Cristea will miss the meeting. The experienced midfielder is suspended for the game while Tony, defenders Pele(11/1) and Ascoli(5/0) will not be used because they are injured.

Ascoli was unlucky being injured in the game with Timisoara in the 74th minute. He has double fracture at his right leg and will be out for 6 months.

 Probable team: M.Popa - Ungurusan, Abrudan, H.Balde, Bazzi - Cojocnean, Menassel, Pacurar, Bostina - Cl.Niculescu, Machado; Coach: Ionut Badea; Injured: Szilagyi, Ascoli, Pele, Tony; Suspended: Adrian Cristea; Substitutes: Bosneag, Munteanu, Delgado, Voican, Buhus, Morar, V.Gheorghe

LAST GAME (Universitatea Cluj - FC Timisoara 1-2)
Scored: 0-1 Dan Alexa (22), 0-2 Nikola Ignjatijevic (45), 1-2 Claudiu Niculescu (58)
"U" Cluj: 12. Popa - 2. Buhus, 6. Abrudan, 5. Pele (16. Ascoli '74), 14. Bazzi - 20. Cojocnean, 8. Nasser, 22. Bostina, 30. Cristea (7. Delgado '75) - 9. Niculescu (26. Tony '81), 11. Machado. Coach: Ionut Badea.
FC Timisoara: 99. Taborda - 4. Luchin, 24. Ghionea, 25. Burca, 6. Ignjatijevici - 55. Bourceanu, 5. Alexa, 10. Tames (17. Magera '66), 8. Sepsi - 21. Goga (19. Nikolici '90), 87. Ricketts (27. Zicu '69). Coach: Dusan Uhrin jr.
Yellow cards: Machado '29, Cojocnean '47, Cristea '74 - Ignatjevici '35

U Cluj had many goal chances in the game with Timisoara, but they lost 1-2. Ionut Badea's team put an end to a 6 game series without defeat. 

This is a game between two teams that don't have what to play for anymore. Maybe U Cluj is a little bit more motivated because they would want to finish in front of CFR in the table.