Football matches counting towards the first
\nleg of Romania’s Cup semifinals were played on Wednesday and Thursday. On
\nWednesday, the local side Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe
\ntrounced visitors Politehnica Iasi, 5-1. Poli drew first blood on five minutes,
\nwhen Andrei Cristea scored from a penalty kick. Sepsi provided the equalizer thanks
\nto their Dutch player Anass Achahbar, on 25 minutes. In the second half, Sepsi’s
\nL\u00f3r\u00e1nd F\u00fcl\u00f6p scored on 52 minutes. Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe’s performance was way
\nabove par on the pitch, for the last fifteen minutes of regular time, with the team from Covasna scoring
\nno less than three goals. Sepsi’s Dutch footballer Achahbar scored his second
\ngoal in minute 75. On 81 minutes Politehnica Iasi’s keeper Denis Rusu fatefully
\nscored an own goal. On 86 minutes, Sepsi’s Swiss footballer Goran Karanovi\u0107 sealed
\nthe fate of the game, scoring for the fifth time.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Cup’s other semifinal on Thursday saw FCSB grabbing a 3-nil away win
\nagainst Dinamo. FCSB threw quite a few of the substitute players on the pitch,
\nyet they dominated the game all along. FCSB’s Adrian Popa provided the opener in
\n32 minutes. The second goal was scored by Darius Olariu in minute 74. FCSB’s
\nCristian Dumitru scored the third goal on minute 83. Both matches were played
\nin empty stadiums. The semifinals’ return leg is scheduled on July 8.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
League One fixtures are scheduled at the weekend. Matches counting
\ntowards Group 1’s fifth round are to be played on Friday, as Gaz Metan Medias
\ntakes on FC Botosani. CFR Cluj takes on Universitatea Craiova in a home game,
\non Sunday. This coming Monday, FCSB travels to Giurgiu, in the south, for a fixture
\nagainst the local side Astra. CFR Cluj are at the top of the table; Cluj are
\nfour points clear from Craiova. In League One’s Group 2, fixtures count towards
\nthe championship’s sixth round. On Friday, FC Hermannstadt goes against Academica
\nClinceni. On Saturday, Chindia Targoviste faces Poli Iasi, while Sepsi Sfantu
\nGheorghe faces Viitorul Constanta. On Monday, Dinamo plays a home game against
\nFC Voluntari.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
( Translation by Eugen Nasta)<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
—–<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The latest from domestic football<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":118169,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40940],"tags":[41871,41870,41710],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-120964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport","tag-equalizer","tag-return-leg","tag-semifinals"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n