Unirea Slobozia won, on Wednesday evening, the away match against CS Mioveni, score 1-0, and is mathematically promoted to the first league, four stages before the end of the League 2 play-off.
Adrian Mihalcea’s team is 13 points away from the first place that leads to the promotion barrier, occupied by FK Miercurea Ciuc, and cannot even be matched by the Harghite team, so the party has started.
Adrian Mihalcea, after Unirea Slobozia secured their place in the first league: “It’s a historic promotion of a united group!”
Suspended from the match at Mioveni, for the second consecutive stage, after being eliminated from the game with Gloria Buzău, Adrian Mihalcea was happy to have achieved the goal. The coach ticked off the first promotion of his career, even with his soul team, from his hometown. He congratulated his players for their progress this season and for joining the first league with four rounds to go.
“It’s a historic promotion, that’s the thing that matters, at the end of a long road, it was a tough championship. We know how we went into this campaign for promotion, we are a small team, but through work, we have created a favorable corridor. I managed to create a united group and through the strength of the group I achieved this performance”Adrian Mihalcea said happily, quoted by Info Ialomita.
Criticized many times for the pragmatic way Unirea plays, the coach said frankly that he prefers efficiency instead of spectacle: “We didn’t have a spectacular game, I didn’t want that and I still don’t want us to have a spectacular game, it was important to have an efficient game.”
“I congratulate my boys for all their work in this championship, I congratulate Mr. President Ilie Lemnaru, the one who trusted me and brought me back to Unirea Slobozia. I am extremely happy for myself and my staff”said Mihalcea after the victory in Mioveni.
- The only goal of the match was scored by Florin Purece, from the penalty, in the 45th + 3rd minute, after Laurentiu Vlăsceanu was fouled in the box by the newcomer Davide Massaro.
“We showed that money matters only to a certain extent”
Unirea Slobozia left behind, this season, teams with bigger budgets, among those that had the right to promotion. Like for example Gloria Buzău, CS Mioveni and FK Miercurea Ciuc, among those that had opponents in the play-off, or Chindia Târgoviște, Concordia Chiajna, Campionii FC Argeș or Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț, among those that reached the play-off out.
“It is much harder to promote with a team with a small budget compared to the top teams in League 2 in terms of annual budget, but we have shown that money only matters to a certain extent. From now on, the hard work begins, it is clear, it will be completely and utterly different League 1, but we will try to raise the bar, change what we can change and be ready for League 1”added Mihalcea.
Unirea Slobozia was the leader in League 2 this regular season in three stages, 9, 10 and 11. In the play-offs, they climbed to the first place after the end of the first round and remained in this position until now. If he does not win again, he has secured the 1st place for at least two more stages of the remaining four.
Next goal this season: 1st place in the League 2 play-offs
The head coach of the team from Slobozia has already set his goal for the last four stages of League 2.
“There are four more stages in the championship and we will tackle them with the same players. Anyway, we don’t have too many at our disposal, we have 12 senior footballers who will be joined by young footballers. With them we will take the last four matches of League 2 to achieve our goal of finishing the championship in first place”said Adrian Mihalcea, quoted by Info Ialomita.
If they finish in first place in the play-off, the people from Ialomi will receive the League 2 trophy, one that Dunărea Călărași (2018), Chindia Târgovişte (2019), UTA Arad (2020), FCU Craiova (2021) have received so far ), Petrolul Ploiești (2022) and Politehnica Iași (2023).
Unirea Slobozia still has to play in League 2, this season, matches with FK Miercurea Ciuc (away, April 27, 11:30), Corvinul Hunedoara (home, May 4, 12:00), Gloria Buzău (away, around May 8) and CSC Şelimbăr (at home, around May 11).
Photo: Gheorghe Fluster and Mihai Nițoiu / Sport Pictures
