Petrolul Ploiesti beat CFR Cluj 1-0 at the National Arena to win the Romanian Cup on Saturday after an early goal from Congolese striker Jeremy Bokila.
Bokila, Petrolul’s top scorer this season, took advantage of a mix-up in the Cluj defence after nine minutes and gave Portuguese keeper Mario Felgueiras no chance with a cool finish from 13 metres.
Petrolul, who were founded as Juventus Bucharest in 1924 and moved to Ploiesti in 1952, won the trophy for a third time after 1963 and 1995 despite missing several key players due to suspension and injury.
„I’m extremely happy because this is my first trophy,” said Petrolul coach Cosmin Contra, a former Romania international with 73 appearances between 1996 and 2010.
„As a player, I was at the UEFA Cup final with Alaves (in 2001) and I played in two Spanish Cup finals with Getafe (in 2007 and 2008) but I stayed on the losing side in all three cases,” added Contra, who was forced to watch the game from the stands due to a touchline ban.
Petrolul sealed a place in next season’s Europa League second qualifying round and will meet champions Steaua Bucharest in the domestic SuperCup on July 10.
