Five-minute wonder buoys Romania
Monday, May 18, 2009
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Romania 2-0 Latvia
Two goals in five second-half minutes from Cornel Râpă and Denis Alibec gave Romania a winning start to Group 5 in Mondeville.
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Two goals in the space of five second-half minutes from Cornel Râpă and Denis Alibec gave Romania a winning start to their UEFA European Under-19 Championship Elite round Group 5 campaign against Latvia in Mondeville.
Individual effort
FC Otelul Galaţi full-back Râpă broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute, nodding in after Sebastian Mladen had headed the ball invitingly into his path from a left-wing cross. Five minutes later, FC Farul Constanta star Alibec demonstrated his skills with a fine individual effort, beating two players before doublig the lead. Romania meet the other Matchday 1 victors Norway in their next game on Wednesday before concluding their campaign against section hosts France on Saturday.