FCSB Holds Unirea Slobozia at Ghencea in etapa a 8-a — Fcsb - Unirea Slobozia
Fcsb - Unirea Slobozia took center stage in Ghencea on 11 May 2026 at 21:00, with FCSB already carrying a Conference League playoff berth and Unirea Slobozia still fighting for points in the Superliga play-out. The gap in their positions gave the match a clear edge: one side had room, the other needed a result.
Ghencea at 21:00
The match was scheduled for Monday night in etapa a 8-a of the play-out, with Lucian Filip listed as FCSB’s interim coach and Claudiu Niculescu in charge of Unirea Slobozia. George Roman handled the referee assignment, while Horia Mladinovici was on VAR.
FCSB entered first in the play-out with 36 points, level with UTA, which had played one more match. Unirea Slobozia sat ninth with 21 points, and a win or even a draw would have lifted it one place above Hermannstadt. Those numbers defined the pressure on the visitors before kickoff.
FCSB’s 36-point edge
That cushion mattered because FCSB had already secured the barajul pentru Conference League with three matches left to play. The club’s league position meant the night in Ghencea was less about qualification and more about finishing the play-out from the top, while Slobozia still needed points to climb.
M. Popa started in goal for FCSB, and Florin Tănase was the last player to step off the team bus. Slobozia arrived three minutes late after traveling by autocar provided by CJ Ialomița, a small delay that added to the feel of a night where every detail around the match was being tracked.
Slobozia’s race for points
About 100 fans were around the stadium while the arena was still empty one hour and 40 minutes before kickoff. Several Unirea Slobozia players followed the Metaloglobus - Hermannstadt match on their phones, a reminder that their own position in the table was tied to what was happening elsewhere.
With the lineups, benches and officiating crew set, the match put both ends of the play-out in the same frame: FCSB protecting a first-place position on 36 points, Slobozia trying to move out of the lower zone on 21. That is the sharpest split in Ghencea — one team had already earned its European playoff path, while the other was still chasing escape points.
