Răzvan Lucescu era begins in style

The Răzvan Lucescu-era began in style as the young manager lead Romania to a 1-0 victory over Lithuania. The result pulls the "tricolori" level with Austria, two points behind the Lithuanians in third.

From the start Romania went on the attack as Tiberiu Ghioane of Ukraine champions Dynamo Kyiv narrowly missed connecting with Ciprian Marica only three minutes in. The VfB Stuttgart striker, Marica, was a whirlwind of activity and after a number of failed efforts he found the mark with six minutes remaining as he sent the ball in from twenty metres. The Lithuanian side continued to have difficulty marking Ciprian Marica but with Romania displaying textbook defending, their was no breaking through and the match concluded without further mark.

Along with "tricolori" debuts for Iulian Apostol (Unirea Urziceni) and Mihai Roman (FC Braşov), the match will be remembered as a exciting first step to recovery with Răzvan Lucescu in charge.

Răzvan Lucescu led Romania travels to Lithania

In his first match in-charge of Romania after taking over from Victor Piţurcă, Răzvan Lucescu prepares his side for a difficult test against a tough Lithuania. Unquestionably the "tricolori" have entered into a rebuilding mode with an eye towards the future but that won't stop the young leader in reestablishing pride and confidence.

In putting together his lineup the new manager has the luxury of captain Cristian Chivu returning to the lineup but once again Adrian Mutu will miss out. Romania will welcome six to the honour of international competition with Iulian Apostol, Mircea Bornescu, Ovidiu Dănănae, George Galamaz, Răzvan Pădureţu and Mihai Roman each earning their first cap. New faces aside will feature Timişoara's Gigi Bucur who has been virtually unstoppable this year and Florin Costea, who has his side on the verge of a Europa League bid.

With it impossible to temper my confidence in Răzvan Lucescu, expect a very strong performance and for Romania to big its move back upon FIFA World rankings of 28.

Goalkeepers
Dănuţ Coman (FC Braşov) Costel Pantilimon (FC Timişoara), Mircea Bornescu (Universitatea Craiova), George Galamaz (Unirea Urziceni)

Defenders
Cristian Chivu (Inter Milan), Ovidiu Dănănae (Universitatea Craiova), George Galamaz (Unirea Urziceni), Dorin Goian (Steaua Bucureşti), Mihai Neşu (FC Utrecht), Mirel Rădoi (Al-Hilal), Răzvan Raţ (Shakhtar Donetsk), Cristian Săpunaru (FC Porto)

Midfielders
Iulian Apostol (Unirea Urziceni), Florin Costea (Universitatea Craiova),Tiberiu Ghioane (Dynamo Kyiv), Costin Lazăr (Rapid Bucureşti), Bogdan Mara (CFR Cluj), Răzvan Pădureţu (Unirea Urziceni), Mihai Roman (FC Braşov), Cristian Tănase (Argeş Piteşti),

Strikers
Gigi Bucur (FC Timişoara), Ionel Dănciulescu (Dinamo Bucureşti, Ciprian Marica (VfB Stuttgart), Marius Niculae (Dinamo Bucureşti)

Unirea Urziceni play CFR Cluj to draw

Unirea Urziceni missed a chance to pull even with Dinamo Bucureşti as they were held to a 1-1 draw by defending champion CFR Cluj. The draw leaves Dan Petrescu's side two points behind Dinamo whilst Cluj trails Universitatea Craiova in the final Europa League spot due to goal differential.

Romanian international Bogdan Mara gave Cluj the 1-0 lead four minutes in as fearlessly dove to head in Alvaro Pereira's cross from the left. Nine minutes later former Huracán man Pablo Brandán squared the match as he sent in Răzvan Pădureţu's free-kick from left in from close range.

Cluj return to the play on Saturday as they face Răzvan Lucescu's Braşov whilst Unirea Urziceni look to make up ground the following day against Oţelul Galaţi.

Argeş Piteşti edge Gloria Bistriţa

Argeş Piteşti defeated Gloria Bistriţa 2-1 via Elias Bazzi's brace.

Piteşti took the lead seventeen minutes in as Bazzi struck a free kick in from eighteen metres. The Vampirii Albaştri fought back and three minutes past the half hour as veteran Dorel Zaharia redirected Liviu Băjenaru's long free kick in. Elias Bazzi came back three minutes past the hour with the winning strike as he dipped a free-kick from sixteen metres over the wall and into the net. Bistriţa's chance for a comeback were complicated with eighteen minutes left as they were forced to play a man down when Cristian Coroian was sent off with his second yellow-card.

Argeş Piteşti return to action on Saturday as they travel to face Farul Constanţa whilst Gloria Bistriţa welcome Pandurii Târgu Jiu.

Florin Costea leads Universitatea Craiova to victory over CS Otopeni

Universitatea Craiova maintain their spot in the Europa League with a tight 1-0 victory over CS Otopeni.

With the match deadlocked Florin Costea found the winning touch with twelve minutes remaining as he redirected Florin Costin Şoava's effort from the left into the net from the edge of the six yard box.

Universitatea Craiova returns to action against Gloria Buzău on Saturday whilst CS Otopeni welcomes Dan Petrescu's Unirea Urziceni.

Gigi Bucur leads Timişoara to victory over Oţelul Galaţi

Timişoara returned to the winning column with a 1-0 hard fought victory over Oţelul Galaţi. The victory brings Gabi Balint's side to within four points of Dinamo Bucureşti as Liga 1 enters the final four weeks of the campaign.

The leagues top scorer, Romanian international Gigi Bucur broke the deadlock midway of the half as he out dueled Galaţi defender Sergiu Costin for a long ball on the right, turned and drove the ball with this left foot to the inside post.

On Sunday Timişoara heads to Bucureşti to face Dinamo whilst Oţelul Galaţi welcomes Unirea Urziceni.

Vaslui pushes to Europa League with 2-1 defeat of Gaz Metan Mediaş

Vaslui kept its Europa League hopes alive with a 2-1 defeat of Gaz Metan Mediaş via Wesley's late goal. With the win Vaslui trails Universitatea Craiova in the final spot for Europe by four points with the equal amount of weeks remaining.

After remaining scoreless for seventy-nine minutes Viorel Moldovan's side broke the deadlock as Bulgarian international Stanislav Genchev raced down the right channel before driving the ball in from ten metres. Only four minutes later Mediaş leveled the match as Florin Sabou sent a dipping effort from beyond the box over Vaslui 'keeper Dušan Kuciak and into the net. However with three minutes left in the match Wesley drilled a free-kick over the wall and into the net for the 2-1 win.

Poli Iaşi play Pandurii Târgu Jiu to draw

Fighting to avoid relegation Poli Iaşi held off mid-table side Pandurii Târgu Jiu for an important point, playing to a 1-1 draw.

Romanian international Andrei Cristea gave Iaşi the lead only twenty seconds into into the match as he broke up a lazy pass and drove the ball from a few metres beyond the area. Two minutes before the hour Florin Stîngă squared the match up as he headed a corner in from the edge of the six yard box.

Poli Iaşi head into relegation battle against Gaz Metan Mediaş on Saturday that could decide either sides fate whilst Pandurii Târgu Jiu faces the Vampirii Albaştri of Bistriţa.

Derby de România ends in draw

One of the sports greats rivalries, billed as the "Derby de România", between Dinamo Bucureşti and Steaua Bucureşti ended in a 1-1 draw. The result opens up the Liga table completely as Dan Petrescu's Unirea Urziceni can pull level with Dinamo if they beat Cluj on Sunday.

The match came with the standard animosity, with Gigi Becali no stranger to controversy as he had some choice words to describe Dinamo fans. After a tightly played match it looked to be headed to a scoreless draw when with nine minutes remaining Steaua Bucureşti took the one goal lead. Accepting the ball just outside the box Tiago Gomes laid the ball off to the right for Eric Bicfalvi whose effort from twenty-plus metres was helped in by Cosmin Moţi's deflection. It seemed that Steaua had the upset by the Roş-albii came storming back with a fortunate goal of their own. With three minutes left Claudiu Niculescu continued his resurgent play with Dinamo as his free-kick from thirty metres careened off Petre Marin and into the net to bring the match to its final score of 1-1

Răzvan Lucescu's Braşov back in Europa League hunt with win over Farul Constanţa

After being upset by Gloria Bistriţa Răzvan Lucescu's FC Braşov got back into the Europa League hunt with a 2-1 victory over Farul Constanţa. The result pulls them level in points with Rapid Bucureşti who play Gloria Buzău on Saturday.

Braşov opened the scoring sixteen minutes in as captain Robert Ilyes made it 1-0 from the spot after a Romeo Surdu by Farul 'keeper George Curcă. Eight minutes later rising star Sabrin Sburlea made it 2-0. With twenty minutes remaining Willian Gerlem's free-kick from the left into the box was nodded in by Ben Teekloh to bring the match within one but that was it got and the match ended with Braşov winning 2-1.

CFR Cluj defeats Timişoara 2-0

Gabi Balint's Timişoara lost important ground in their championship race as they fell 2-0 to defending champions CFR Cluj. The result drops Timişoara six points off Dinamo Bucureşti whilst Cluj is rapidly gaining ground and only trail by four points in the final Europa League spot.

After a scoreless half Diego Ruiz gave Cluj the lead five minutes in as he accepted Sixto Peralta short volley into the box before driving the ball in from ten metres. Cluj's Argentine connection continued to shine as with eighteen minutes left as Ruiz raced into the box before sending the ball to Sebastián Dubarbier on his left. After a touch he drove the ball into the top of the net from twelve metres to make it 2-0

Viorel Hizo leads Rapid Bucureşti to victory over CS Otopeni

Once again Viorel Hizo came to rescue as the sixty-two year-old manager returned to lead Rapid Bucureşti for this fifth stint. Following the dreadful loss to Gaz Metan Mediaş, the wise veteran leader took charge and in his first match in-charge Rapid responded with an emphatic 3-0 devastation of CS Otopeni. The result pulls Rapid to within three points of CFR Cluj in the final Europa League spot.

After a scoring opening half Rapid took charge with João Paulo Andrade, on-loan from Porto, sent a powerful drive into the back of the net from twenty-five plus metres. Only six minutes later superb young product Lucian Răduţă gave Mr. Hizo reason to cheer as he scooped up a rebound of a João Paulo Andrade blocked attempt and drove the ball in from just inside the area. A minute into added time Ştefan Grigorie made it 3-0 as he took advantage of a similar loose ball and drove it in from fourteen metres.

Universitatea Craiova defeats Gaz Metan Mediaş

After losing to Pandurii Târgu Jiu last week, Universitatea Craiova responded with a 2-0 victory over Gaz Metan Mediaş. The victory leaves Nicolò Napoli's side two points below Cluj in the final Europa League spot as they face CS Otopeni on Sunday.

After a tight opening period Craiova took the lead as Julius Wobay free-kick from the left was flicked on by Valerică Găman to the back post with Florin Costea nodding it in. Romanian U-21 Constantin Gângioveanu was the creator of the second goal as with twenty-one minutes remaining he sent a pinpoint cross from the bye-line into the box that Mihai Dina headed-in off the far post. Mediaş 'keeper Cosmin Vâtcă argued that he pulled the back before crossing the line but the goal stood.

FC Vaslui keeps Europa League hopes alive with win over Pandurii Târgu Jiu

FC Vaslui kept its slim Europa League hopes alive with a 1-0 victory over Pandurii Târgu Jiu. The victory leaves Viorel Moldovan's Vaslui side ninth in the table, six points behind Cluj in the final Europa League spot with five matches remaining. Mike Temwanjera gave Vaslui the lead eighteen minutes into the match with his sixth goal of the campaign.

FC Vaslui returns to play on Saturday against resurgent Gaz Metan Mediaş whilst Pandurii Târgu Jiu welcomes Poli Iaşi.

Steaua Bucureşti edges Gloria Buzău 1-0

Steaua Bucureşti readied for Friday's derby clash against Dinamo Bucureşti with a 1-0 victory over relegation condemned Gloria Buzău. The victory extends the Roş-Albaştrii unbeaten streak to six matches as they pull with four points of Timişoara.

Marius Lăcătuş' side took the lead sixteen minutes in as George Ogăraru played the ball to Juan Carlos Toja a few metres outside the box and after a quick pass to the left Bogdan Stancu pounded the ball to make it 1-0.

Dinamo Bucureşti defeats Oţelul Galaţi 1-0

Dinamo Bucureşti maintained its two point lead on Unirea Urziceni with a narrow 1-0 victory over Oţelul Galaţi. The victory extends the Roş-albii winning streak to four as they ready for Friday's battle against rivals Steaua Bucureşti.

The matches lone goal came eleven minutes before the break as Claudiu Niculescu continues his resurgent play with Dinamo as he split the defenders to play Ionel Dănciulescu through the right channel, with the captain in Bogdan Lobonţ's absence, driving the ball to the top left corner from ten metres.

Poli Iaşi climbs out of relegation with 4-0 victory over Argeş Piteşti

Poli Iaşi leapfrogged out of the relegation zone over Gaz Metan Mediaş with a thundering 4-0 victory over Argeş Piteşti.

After a scoreless opening hour Iaşi poured in four goals in the remaining time. Two minutes past the hour Petar Jovanović sent a cross from the left into box that Andrei Cristea headed-in from six metres. Ten minutes later Cristea turned provider as he sent a low cross for Romulus Miclea to volley-in from a few metres out. Slovenian international Domen Beršnjak added the third goal with thirteen minutes remaining as he played a smooth one-two with Cristea before driving the ball into the far left corner from twelve metres. Beršnjak returned the favour as he supplied Andrei Cristea a long ball which he drove in from just inside the box for his second goal of the day as regulation time ran out

Dan Petrescu's Unirea Urziceni defeats Farul Constanţa 1-0

Dan Petrescu's Unirea Urziceni stayed within two points of Dinamo Bucureşti with a 1-0 victory over Farul Constanţa.

Two minutes before the break Iulian Apostol got revenge on his old club with the matches long goal. After sending in a corner from that left that was cleared back to him Apostol drove the back towards Marius Bilaşco at the near post and ended up in the back of the net after an opportunistic bounce.

Unirea Urziceni faces a massive match on Sunday against defending champion CFR Cluj whilst Farul Constanţa continues to search for a way out the relegation zone against Răzvan Lucescu's Braşov on Friday.

Daniel Ghindeanu the difference as Pandurii Târgu Jiu defeats Universitatea Craiova

Pandurii Târgu Jiu dealt Universitatea Craiova a massive blow in their Europa League efforts, winning 1-0. The loss sends Nicolò Napoli's Craiova side to sixth in the table, two points behind Cluj and Steaua Bucureşti.

The matches lone goal came twenty minutes in as Daniel Ghindeanu led a fast counter and after feeding the ball to Milanko Rašković on the right flank, he accepted a return pass from the bye-line and fired the winning strike from ten metres.

Universitatea Craiova returns to play against surging Gaz Metan Mediaş next Tuesday whilst Universitatea Craiova faces FC Vaslui.

Liviu Ganea leads CS Otopeni to victory over Gloria Buzău

The battle of the pride for the bottom two sides of Liga 1, CS Otopeni and Gloria Buzău ended with Otopeni winning 2-0.

With safety highly unlikely for Otopeni and Buzău already doomed to the drop the match certainly was off the beaten track. However Otopeni, lead by their superb young striker Liviu Ganea can make claim to their third victory in the difficult season. Twenty minutes into the match the twenty-one year-old striker Ganea drove the ball to the top left corner two metres beyond the area. Only fourteen minutes later, Jean Paul Yontcha effort from the far right was too much for Buzău 'keeper to handle and Ganea calmly drove the ball in from close range.