A more than satisfactory run, but below-par results. This is the outcome of the Romanian participation in the first leg of Europa League’s third preliminary round.
The Romanian football teams participating in Europa league move on to the second leg of the competition with a disappointing no–win record. Dinamo Bucharest held Athletic Bilbao to a 1-all draw on the National Arena in Bucharest. The Basques were the first to score, through Aymeric Laporte on 21 minutes. Dinamo’s equalizer came in minute 54, thanks to Rivaldinho’s superb long distance shooting. Rivaldinho is the son of former Brazilian star Rivaldo.
In the second half of the game, Dinamo braced up and provided a perfect match for their opponents, being a whisker away from scoring again and securing a win. Should Dinamo succeed to put on a similar performance in the return leg of the tie against Athletic Bilbao, they stand good chances to provide a surprise in the competition.
In the southern Romanian town of Drobeta Turnu-Severin, CSU Craiova lost the game against AC Milan, nil-1. The Italians’ Swiss full-back Ricardo Rodriguez scored the only goal of the game. Resuming their participation in the European competitions after a 17-year gap, Craiova showed a lot of determination on the pitch as they engaged a much better opponent. AC Milan have also returned to European competitions, after a three-year break, though, so a much shorter one than that of CSU Craiova. Milan are definitely the odds-on favorites for the return leg. However, the mere presence on Italy’s biggest stadium, San Siro, this coming Thursday, will be a true consolation for Craiova.
The third Romanian team competing in the Europa League, Astra Giurgiu, took on Ukrainian contenders Oleksandria on home turf. Astra managed a lackluster blank draw, and were unable to provide a single shot at goal in the 90-minute regular time.
We end with the latest from domestic football. From Friday and all through to Monday matches are scheduled, counting towards the third round of the League One championship. On Friday, FC Botosani are pitted against Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe and Concordia Chiajna take on Poli Iasi. On Saturday, Juventus Bucharest receive the visit of FC Voluntari, while in Medias, the local side Gaz Metan face CFR Cluj. On Sunday, two games of European standing are scheduled: in the south-eastern Romanian town of Ovidiu, Viitorul Constanta take on Bucharest team Dinamo, while in Bucharest, FCSB play Universitatea Craiova. On Monday, Astra Giurgiu are pitted against Poli Timisoara, in the last game of the third round.
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