even though the team was unbeaten in the first seven games of the campaign, Maldarasanu was sacked after winning only two games, losing important points in draws against small teams. Gheorghe Multescu was brought back at the helm, and had immediate impact, winning his first three games in charge, a 2–1 win against FC Dinamo București, in which Alibec scored his first goal after his return to the team, an impressive 3–0 victory against play-off contanders Gaz Metan Medias and a 5–1 stomping in the Romanian Cup against second divisionary CS Luceafărul Oradea. After 10 rounds Astra Giurgiu was the only team undefeated in the league. This changed after a controversial 1–0 loss against FC Viitorul Constanța, in which Alibec missed because of an injury, and Astra played for more than an hour in 10-men because of defender Erico, who was sent off in the first half after many reckless fouls. Astra defended heroically all game, and, in the 90th minute, their goalkeeper threw the ball out of the field because his teammate was injured. Gheorghe Hagi's boys did not gave the ball back to Astra, and instead, crossed the ball and scored a last minute winner, winning the game in a very non-fair play way. After this game, a series of 4 defeats in his next 5 league games saw Multescu sacked and replaced with ex-FC Botoșani manager Costel Enache. Enache's first game in charge was a 1–0 defeat against Sepsi OSK, after this result Astra fell off the play-off spots for the first time in over a year. However, even if he failed to win his first 2 games at the helm, he led the team to a fantastic 11 games unbeaten streak which secured an easy play-off qualification, finishing the regular season in 4th place. Under Costel Enache, Astra Giurgiu played a very possession-based style of play, using many short passes to open up defenses. They had the 3rd best attack and second best defense in the league at the end of the main campaign. Denis Alibec was their most important asset, and, even though he scored only five goals and was held back by injuries, he was the main creator of the team, providing many clear chances to his teammates. Another star of the team was the center-back Mike Cestor, who was included in the team of the season. Also, youngsters Mihai Butean and Valentin Gheorghe