Corvinul Hunedoara and Sepsi OSK Sfântu-Gheorghe drew 1:1 in the third round of Liga I at the weekend. The hosts took the lead before their visitors turned it around almost immediately, and neither side could find a winner after that.
M. Bratu gave Corvinul the advantage in the thirty-second minute, but C. Matei levelled just two minutes later. There was a moment of drama before half-time when M. Abualnadi thought he had restored the lead, but the goal was ruled out for offside. By then the yellow cards were already coming thick and fast — S. Karamoko and C. Matei both went into the book before the interval.
The match opened up after the break with a series of changes. D. Andrei came on for Corvinul in the sixtieth minute, while N. Heras replaced one of Sepsi's midfielders. M. Bratu, the goalscorer, was pulled off in the sixty-seventh, and C. Matei followed in the eighty-fifth. S. Ribeiro was the last change, arriving in the eighty-seventh for the home side.
Sepsi controlled possession at 56 per cent to Corvinul's 44, but the shots told a different story. The hosts registered four shots on target against three for their visitors, and created three big chances to Sepsi's one. Corvinul attempted twenty-four crosses with six landing, while Sepsi managed only three from eleven. The effort went into the final third too — Corvinul sent ninety passes in, Sepsi seventy-nine.
Both teams sat on ten points after eight games, Corvinul eighth and Sepsi twelfth. The draw kept them both in the same sort of space, neither pulling away nor falling behind. It was a result that didn't separate them much, and neither side looked like they had earned more.