Politehnica Timișoara beat ASA Târgu Mureș 2:1 in the Romanian Cup final on Tuesday evening. The match at the stadium ended with the hosts lifting the trophy after a chaotic second half. By then you could see why this one was worth watching — the game swung wildly in the final minutes.
C. Ene opened the scoring in the 43rd minute. ASA levelled just before the break, though the data doesn't name the scorer. Then came the confusion: M. Samake found the net in the 45+4th minute, and F. Marincu added another in the 49th. And here's the thing — the final score reads 2:1 despite four goals being recorded.
Politehnica dominated possession at 53 per cent and registered 92 attacks against 88 for the visitors. They took ten shots — five on target, five off — while ASA managed three on target from five attempts. To be fair, the away side won five corners to none, which tells you they pressed forward when it mattered.
Discipline was an issue for the hosts, who collected four yellow cards compared to ASA's two. Politehnica also had four offsides, while the visitors were caught offside twice. The statistics don't tell the whole story — many shots with a narrow margin of victory means chances went begging for both sides.
For Politehnica, this result extends a strong run. Their last five matches show four wins and a draw, including victories over Unirea Slobozia, Dumbrăvița, and Chinodia Târgoviște. ASA's recent form has been mixed — two wins but also heavy defeats against Cetatea Suceava and Gloria Bistrița.
The final score of 2:1 gives Politehnica the cup and a clear advantage in their domestic campaign. ASA will have to reflect on a performance that produced more goals than the scoreboard suggests, yet still fell short on the biggest stage.