Our academy teams recorded two wins, a draw and a narrow defeat in their Elite League fixtures on Tuesday and Wednesday. A round-up featuring the coaches’ assessments.

Our academy teams recorded two wins, a draw and a narrow defeat in their Elite League fixtures on Tuesday and Wednesday. A round-up featuring the coaches’ assessments.

Our U15s won by three goals in Buzău, while our U17 side brought all three points home from Bucharest. The U16s fought back from two goals down to draw, whereas the U18s suffered a narrow defeat away to Oxigen București after conceding an early goal. The teams’ resilience and discipline were recurring themes in the coaches’ assessments, although there is still room for improvement in front of goal.

U18

The only goal of the match arrived as early as the sixth minute, when Silvester Mario put Oxigen ahead. The score remained unchanged thereafter, meaning our U18 side ended the third round of the Western Group of the Youth League with a one-goal defeat.

Youth League, regular season, Western Group, Round 3
Oxigen București–FK Csíkszereda 1–0 (1–0)

Goalscorer: Silvester Mario (6).

Oxigen București: Petrescu Matei – Răduca Pavel, Budurea Patrick (Gogoț Ciprian, 90), Olaru Mihai (Tănase Luca, 81), Pandele Adrian (C) (Pau David, 81), Silvester Mario, Dumitru Damian, Sandu Florin, Sorea Robert, Răducan Sasha, Mocanu Denis (Cubițchi Robert, 59). Head coach: Ștef Vlad Octavian.

FK Csíkszereda: Györfi Krisztián – Miara Dominik, Kertész Márk, Papp György, Cătrinoi Cornea, Vass Norbert, Máthé Apor (C), Tóth-Pál Milán (Balázs Attila, 59), Prezsmer Victor (Baior Darius, 77), Bódi Lehel, Nyitra Szabolcs (Ilyés Máté, 57). Head coach: Goran Kopunović.

After the match, Goran Kopunović stressed that there are no easy opponents in the U18 league. As he explained, he had already experienced this last season, and the name Oxigen could not be taken to mean that his players would be facing a weak team.

“We played a good, hard-fought match. We made another individual mistake at the start and it was 1–0 in the fifth minute, but after that we took complete control. We created chances and even had an opportunity with an empty net, but we were unable to score,” the head coach assessed.

Despite the result, Kopunović was pleased with the attitude of his players, who, in his view, gave everything and once again demonstrated the team’s character. He felt the performance was slightly below the level shown on Sunday but emphasised that there was no reason for panic, pressure or stress. His side will continue working and prepare hard for the next match.

U17

Fazakas Zalán gave our U17 side the lead in Bucharest as early as the tenth minute. Dună David equalised in the 37th minute before Oxigen București were reduced to ten men in the 43rd minute following Mihai Vlad’s dismissal. Oniga Victor found the net in the 52nd minute and Klein Tizian scored in the 86th to complete a 3–1 victory.

U17 Elite League, regular season, Western Group, Round 3
Oxigen București–FK Csíkszereda 1–3 (1–1)

Goalscorers: Dună David (37); Fazakas Zalán (10), Oniga Victor (52), Klein Tizian (86). Sent off: Mihai Vlad (43).

Oxigen București: Mateescu Flavius – Dună David (Nicolae Ionuț, 45), Mihai Vlad (C), Andone Bogdan, Voicu Sebi, Diaconu David, Oprea Eric, Dragnea Timotei, Bădică Mario (Haș Alexandru, 60), Barbu Ionuț, Neagu Denis. Head coach: Ștef Vlad Octavian.

FK Csíkszereda: Déva Kristóf – Hella-Fehér Dániel, Keresztes Ákos, Szabó Örs, Klein Tizian, Fazakas Zalán, Lukács Bence (Miklós Elemér, 45), Jánoska-Máthé Krisztián, Oniga Victor, Șeitan-Pataki Dávid (Fazakas Gellért, 73), Györfi Bence (C). Head coach: Mitra Szilárd.

U16

Our U16 side earned a point in Buzău after recovering from a two-goal deficit. The hosts went in front through Andrei Eduard’s goals in the 20th and 62nd minutes. Székely Edmond pulled one back two minutes after the second goal before Forró Patrik equalised in the first minute of stoppage time. After three rounds, our U16 side lead Group 1 with seven points.

U16 Elite League, regular season, Group 1, Round 3
LPS Buzău–FK Csíkszereda 2–2 (1–0)

Goalscorers: Andrei Eduard (20, 62); Székely Edmond (64), Forró Patrik (90+1).

LPS Buzău: Dinu Cristian – Neagu Alexandru, Cercel Dumitru, Baicu Florin (Pandele Patrick, 59), Stănescu Robert, Andrei Eduard (C), Neagu Darius (Draghici Iuri, 84), Anghel Albert, Ghiță Andrei, Eshun Justin, Ene Andrei.

FK Csíkszereda: Bâlbâe Róbert – Kiss Hunor, Kósa Áron (C) (Sipos Tamás, 87), Forró Patrik, Polgár József (Murgui Mario, 64), Boér Szabolcs, Matei Darius (Debrenti Milán, 64), Szabó Ákos, Deák Kristóf, Székely Edmond (Lukács Bence, 80), Orbán Hunor. Head coach: Fogarasi Zoltán.

Fogarasi Zoltán said his team had expected a difficult match but took to the pitch with the clear intention of winning and started the game accordingly. His players had two major opportunities to take the lead during the opening twenty minutes, but it was the hosts who scored with an effort from mid-range.

According to the head coach, his players had several opportunities to clear the ball before the goal and could have done so had they intervened more decisively. Once in front, LPS Buzău were able to continue the match comfortably and according to their own plans, but this did not unsettle the FK players. The team kept their opponents under constant pressure and created corners and chances, although they failed to convert their biggest opportunity.

The coaching staff sought to reorganise the side at half-time, and Fogarasi felt that the match became somewhat calmer in the second half. His team remained in the opposition half and once again created numerous chances and corners. Nevertheless, the hosts doubled their advantage after a long ball took a strange bounce and was carried by the wind.

“The team’s resilience is demonstrated by the fact that we did not give up even when we were two goals down. We knew we were the better footballing side and tried to make that clear. We pulled one back relatively quickly and then managed to equalise in the first minute of stoppage time. We also had the chance to win the match, but we missed a clear-cut opportunity in the 94th minute,” Fogarasi Zoltán said.

The head coach was not satisfied with his side’s finishing. He emphasised that a team cannot afford to miss so many opportunities and must be more efficient in front of goal when enjoying that much possession. From the hosts’ perspective, he considered the draw a fair result, even though his team created twelve major chances and won more than a dozen corners.

According to Fogarasi, it is not enough to enjoy the upper hand, dominate possession and keep the opposition under pressure, as the opportunities must also be converted into goals. He hopes the team will improve in this respect and, in the future, will be able to settle matches with numerous chances earlier and turn them in their favour.

Finally, the head coach praised his players’ perseverance and determination. The team did not give up when two goals behind and continued to help one another in a difficult situation. He added that their league campaign will continue against Petrosport on Saturday, when they will look to make amends and take to the pitch determined to claim all three points.

U15

Our U15 side settled the contest in Buzău during the first half. Bejinariu Lucas found the net in the tenth and 15th minutes before Törő Milán scored our team’s third goal in the 24th. The score remained unchanged in the second half.

U15 Elite League, regular season, Group 1, Round 3
LPS Buzău–FK Csíkszereda 0–3 (0–3)

Goalscorers: Bejinariu Lucas (10, 15), Törő Milán (24).

LPS Buzău: Busuioc Alexandru – Andrei Yannis (Cocor Antonio, 50), Stancu Rareș (Cîrc Yannis, 58), Zainea Andrei, Vlădoiu Eduard, Sileanu Ștefan, Tabără Eduard (Petre Mădălin, 50), Stătulescu Denis, Sileanu Marian, Barbu Patrik (C), Dumitrache Yannis.

FK Csíkszereda: Bokor Kristóf – Lovas Bence, Jánosi Hunor, Boga Olivér (Ilyés Gergő, 62), Becze Balázs (Páll Árpád, 57), Sângerean Darius, Hajnal László, Törő Milán (Szővérfi Rajmond, 51), Gagiu Milán (Makkai Vince, 57), Kozma Gergő (C) (Benkes András, 51), Bejinariu Lucas. Head coach: Burus Bernát.

In his assessment, Burus Bernát noted that the team had little time to prepare for the match against Buzău. Their main focus was therefore on refreshing the players mentally and physically so that their play would function as smoothly as possible in Tuesday’s fixture.

According to the head coach, his side defended with great tactical discipline and concentration. The defensive unit had to clear numerous long balls, while the attacking players also carried out their duties effectively: FK settled the outcome of the match in less than half an hour.

Burus believes that the connections between the players are becoming increasingly well established from one match to the next, allowing the team’s play to become progressively quicker and more fluent.

The joy of collecting all three points was nevertheless overshadowed by an injury to Boga Olivér. One of the team’s key players suffered a broken wrist following an unfortunate movement and now faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

The team dedicated the victory to their injured team-mate and wished him a speedy recovery and the earliest possible return to the pitch. Burus Bernát congratulated his players and stressed that they would continue working to extend their good run for as long as possible.

R. A.
Our U15 and U16 starting line-ups in Buzău are pictured in the montage