Rapid saw off Politehnica Timișoara 2-0 in the Romanian Cup group stage on Wednesday evening, the away side controlling proceedings from start to finish. The visitors took all three points at the home ground, moving them further ahead in the group standings. Politehnica had entered the fixture on a strong run of five consecutive wins, but their form ended here with no shots on target to show for their efforts.
The match began with substitutions already on the horizon, and Politehnica brought on M. Aioani in the forty-fourth minute. Rapid responded with a triple change at the break, introducing T. Jambor, C. B. Doumbia and A. Huszti all at once. F. Marincu followed for Politehnica in the fifty-third minute, and R. Pop came on five minutes later. A yellow card arrived in the sixty-first minute, though the recipient is not recorded in the available data.
Rapid kept pushing, bringing on R. Benzar and D. Spataru together in the sixty-third minute. Politehnica made two more changes, C. Manea in the seventy-ninth and K. Appiah Nyarko in the eighty-first, perhaps sensing the tide had turned. The visitors finally broke through in the eighty-fifth minute when M. Kamara found the net. The second goal came in the eighty-ninth, though no scorer is listed for that one.
The statistics told the story of a one-sided affair. Rapid dominated possession at sixty-six per cent to Politehnica's thirty-four. The visitors registered seven shots on target against zero for the hosts, and had seven corners to one. Politehnica managed two shots off target but could not test the goalkeeper. Rapid blocked five shots and made thirty throw-ins compared to sixteen.
This result means Rapid move closer to securing their place in the next phase of the competition. Politehnica's unbeaten run comes to an end, and they now face the task of regrouping. The margin of victory reflects the quality gap between sides on this occasion, with Rapid refusing to go away despite the early pressure from the home crowd.
