In the sixth competitive game of the season, Prague did not win for the first time, and they did not beat FCSB in the fifth cup duel either. The rivals met each other after eight years, then in the same stage of the Champions League qualification, the Romanian team advanced after the 1-1 results on Summer and a 2-0 home win.
Sparta started in the strongest possible lineup, Albanian midfielder Laci took the captain’s armband instead of the injured Panák. In the starting eleven of the guests, midfielder and former player of Slavia or Liberec Baluta was not missing. In the previous preliminary round, Letensi defeated the Irish Shamrock, while FCSB first eliminated Sanmarin Virtus and then Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The visitors started actively and in the 10th minute they found themselves with the first opportunity. Ross didn’t catch Laci’s return pass, Sut got to the ball and went around the running goalkeeper Vindahl in the corner of the box, but he headed wide with a ground shot.
After 20 minutes of the game, Laci fired a shot wide of the goalpost from behind the penalty area. On the other hand, Miculescu fired over. In the 36th minute, the Creta defender inadvertently charged Haraslín with a shot with a kick, but the Slovakian winger shot over. After a successful combination action, Popa got to the finish, but Vindahl dealt with his attempt. Sparta then took a short corner, Laci crossed in front of the goal and Sörensen headed just over.
After an hour of play, Baluta caught a bad pass by Vindahl, shot, and the ball ended up on the side net after Ross’ run. However, the guests struck from the following corner. Captain Olaru crossed the front post and Dawa opened the scoring with a header with the help of a rebound from Ryneš. The Cameroon stopper also scored against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The conceded goal woke up Sparta and they created pressure, which they crowned with an equalizing goal in the 78th minute. Birmančević crossed from the corner and substitute Olatunji made no mistake with his head. In the sixth competitive match of the season, he already scored his fourth goal. “The atmosphere was great, without the fans we wouldn’t have played like this. My goal was very important. I’m very happy that I helped the team with it. FCSB is a very good team like us,” said the striker.
Birmančevič almost completed the turn in the set-up, but his shot from the free kick was blocked by the Tarnovan goalkeeper. Subsequently, Sadílk’s long drive fell to Kairinen and the Finnish midfielder scored. However, the video referee entered the game and the head referee Saggi, after watching the replays, canceled the goal because Vitík pushed the substitute Edjouma in the penalty area.
The Danish coach of the Prague team, Lars Friis, was not satisfied after the match. “We didn’t play the way we should have, especially on the ball. I’m disappointed in certain ways. It’s the Champions League, you play against the best teams. I wasn’t surprised by what we saw from FCSB. But we have to be better.”
The coach of the Romanian team, Elias Charalambous, spoke about the difficult match. “We knew from the beginning that it would be difficult. In similar matches, the players have to give their best, because the quality of the game increases as the preliminary rounds increase. Sparta scored two goals from set pieces, although the second one did not pay off. We also scored from set pieces, we had other chances. We defended the opponent well. Everything will be decided in a week in Bucharest. It’s fifty to fifty.”
Midfielder Mihai Lixandra still sees Sparta as a favorite. “It has more and more chances to advance, it’s a great team, it has a very good squad. It’s worth more than twice as much as ours. We wanted to show that we have a chance and that we can advance. In the return we have to believe in ourselves and play more offensively. We shouldn’t to try new things, but to prove the ones that work for us.”
