Niculescu gives Dinamo the edge

FC Dinamo Bucuresti have one foot in the Romanian Cup final after winning tonight's semi-final first leg against arch-rivals FC Steaua Bucuresti 1-0.

Hotly-contested match
Claudiu Niculescu's 75th-minute goal separated the two sides after a hotly-contested match. Steaua dominated the first 30 minutes, but created only two decent chances, which were missed by Claudiu Raducanu and Eugen Trica.

Tudor saves well
Mirel Radoi and Claudiu Raducanu missed further opportunities for Steaua in the second half. Dinamo played mainly on the counterattack and nearly took the lead themsleves in the 59th minute with a Ovidiu Talvan volley but Steaua goalkeeper Martin Tudor saved well.

Superb shot
On 75 minutes, Niculescu dribbled his way into a good position and shot superbly from 15 metres to take a 1-0 lead into the second leg on 8 May.

Astra dominate early on
In the day's other semi-final first leg, SC Astra Ploiesti drew 2-2 with FC Rapid Bucuresti 2-2. Astra dominated the early stages and took the lead through Cornel Mihart, but Rapid were back on level terms in the 38th minute thanks to striker Robert Nita's first goal of the season.

Resilient Rapid
Rapid captain Adrian Iencsi missed a penalty five minutes later and Astra retook the lead 18 minutes after the interval when Mihai Dascalescu took advantage of an Iensci mistake. However, Rapid proved their resilience five minutes later when substitute Florin Bratu scored from a brisk counterattack to leave his side marginal favorites to reach the final on 5 June.