Universitatea Cluj beat Petrolul Ploiești 1-0 in the Romanian Cup group stage on Monday. The hosts held on for a narrow victory despite playing most of the second half with ten men. I. Macalou scored the only goal in the seventy-third minute to settle it.
By then the match had already turned. A. Chintes went off with a red card in the thirty-ninth minute after two yellow cards in quick succession. Petrolul pushed forward, but Cluj's defence held firm. To be fair, the visitors never quite found the rhythm they'd looked for.
Macalou's strike came after a period of sustained pressure. Cluj registered seven shots on target compared to Petrolul's three, though both sides shared possession evenly at fifty-fifty. Attacks were roughly level at 104 to 105. The difference was in conversion — one goal from the hosts, none from the visitors.
Petrolul had beaten Cluj 3-2 just a week earlier, so this result flipped the recent balance. The visitors picked up three points elsewhere in the group, but the head-to-head now sits even. Cluj's run of mixed results continued — two wins and three losses in their last five.
The victory keeps Cluj within touching distance of the group leaders. Petrolul remain ahead on goal difference, but the gap has barely moved. One mistake ends it in these tight contests, and neither side had one that counted.
