Two goals by Stefanie Curtis took the Republic of Ireland up to second place in UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ qualifying Group 2 after a fine away win against Romania in hot conditions on Saturday.

Early strikes
In a morning kick-off at the Mogosoaia Football Centre the Republic appeared to have got out of bed on the right side as Michelle O'Brien, Sonya Hughes and Olivia Christin O'Toole combined to create two superbly-worked team goals on 12 and 14 minutes for Curtis, who finished well from close range on both occasions. Romania improved in the second half but it was the visitors who came closest to scoring again on the hour mark when O'Toole's 16-metre shot came back of a post.

Romania chances
Romania were also unfortunate not to score but Florentina Spanu, Laura Rus and Georgiana Birtoiu all failed to convert when presented with excellent goalscoring chances in the penalty area. As the game wore on, though, so the players began to wilt in the midday heat and Noel King's side held on for their second group win that takes them into second place in the pool, three points behind leaders Sweden.

King's praise
King said: "We always knew this was a key fixture for our campaign but to get a start like that after only 14 minutes is fantastic, the girls here today are a credit to their clubs and country, conditions were incredibly difficult and to perform like they did today was impressive." These teams meet again in Ireland on 27 October.