Romania round-up: No capital gains

Divizia A leaders FC Dinamo Bucuresti were surprisingly held to a 1-1 home draw by FC Farul Constanta on a day when none of the capital teams won.

Steaua beaten
FC Steaua Bucuresti lost 1-0 to CS Otelul Galati while CF Sportul Studentesc shared six goals with UM Timisoara. Bucharest's two other top-flight sides are in action on Sunday: second-placed FC Rapid host SC Astra Ploiesti; third-placed FC National travel to FC Petrolul Ploiesti.

Paid the price
Dinamo opened the scoring on 13 minutes against Farul, Claudiu Niculescu grabbing his tenth goal of the season from a pass by Vlad Munteanu. Both players missed excellent chances to extend the lead and Dinamo paid the price for their profligacy when Farul defender Sorin Trofin equalised with ten minutes to go.

Veteran on target
An 84th-minute goal from Otelul veteran Viorel Tanase signalled defeat for Steaua, all but ending their faint title hopes. Tanase capitalised on a defensive error before firing past Steaua goalkeeper Martin Tudor from close range. Marius Lacatus's men have now beaten all five Bucharest clubs and are in contention for a UEFA Cup place.

UEFA Cup place
Sixth-placed FC Universitatea Craiova are also in the hunt for a European slot, but their cause was not helped by a 1-1 draw at FC Brasov. The home side were on the defensive for much of the game following the 25th-minute dismissal of captain Cosmin Bodea. Victor Iacob put Universitatea ahead in the 67th minute with a fine header but the ten men battled gamely for an equaliser, which arrived through Marius Onofras.

Eleven missing
Despite missing eleven players through illness, injury and suspension FC Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt defeated FCM Bacau 2-0. Both goals came in the second half, Senis Feizula (49) and Adrian Solomon (86) finding the net. FC Arges-Dacia Pitesti climbed to eleventh with a 3-0 home triumph against CF Gloria Bistrita, their third straight victory.

Six-goal thriller
But the most exciting game of the day was the 3-3 draw between Timisoara and Sportul. The hosts led three times - through Florin Calin (7), Calin Mada (19) and Sorin Vlaicu (77) - but each time Gheorghe Bucur equalised. He struck in the 16th and 31st minutes before completing his hat-trick with three minutes remaining. Timisoara remain bottom while Sportul are 14th in the 16-team table.