The Astra Chronicle
Squad23 Nov 2026
George Stanciu damages knee ligaments — 48 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 48 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match18 Nov 2026
Nazar Ragulin sends Astra through
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Nazar Ragulin obliged against Dinamo Bucharest. 1‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Astra.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Astra
Joaquín Mattalia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The terraces23 Nov 2026
Astra supporters have found a favourite in Rubén Funes
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Rubén Funes has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Astra training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Callum Guy is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Astra lose Adrian Moldovan
41 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Loan watch23 Nov 2026
Paul Marin counts the days
“I watch every Astra game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Dinamo Bucharest runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
The afternoon belonged to Nazar Ragulin
A mark of 7.55, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Rubén Funes runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 8. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
In brief
- Player ratings The referee tires of Aldair Ferreira
- The terraces The press have found their man in Nazar Ragulin