Urziceni - Sevilla - 2009

Sevilla have already qualified but could yet lose top spot to Unirea; the Romanians stand two points ahead of Stuttgart, who they travel to face in the final round of matches in a fortnight. Unirea sprang to life immediately from the kick-off. Attacking down the left, Sevilla's Spanish centre-half Sergio Sanchez was drawn into a cynical foul and, from the resulting free-kick, Unirea had the ball in the back of the net. However referee Tom Henning Ovrebo, remembered for his controversial display in last season's Champions League semi-final between Chelsea and Barcelona, ruled the goal out for apparent offside. Iulian Apostol had whipped the ball into the penalty area and Javi Varas punched unconvincingly clear; the ball fell to Pablo Brandan who slotted home, only for Ovrebo to blow his whistle. That did not serve as a sign of things to come, Dan Petrescu's men proceeding to sit back and invite Sevilla to attack for most of the first-half. And in two separate instances, that tactic almost served to undermine Unirea. The first chance for the Spanish side came in the eighth minute and saw Abdoulay Konko whip in a ball from the right which Frederic Kanoute connected with cleanly, but his shot came back off the post. Jesus Navas, who followed up, could only blast wide from outside the box. If Manolo Jimenez's men felt hard done by, they had another reason to curse their misfortune in the 20th minute. Kanoute's strike partner Alvaro Negredo sent a looping header back off the underside of the crossbar following an incisive free-kick from Diego Capel, which Unirea keeper Giedrius Arlauskis had failed to deal with. Sevilla looked comfortable for the remainder of the first half, maintaining possession as they kept Unirea pinned back in their own third; yet they fell behind on the stroke of half-time. An inexplicable own-goal by Dragutinovic, clumsily heading past Varas, did the damage: the Serbian defender was not under a great deal of pressure following a long ball into the box from Brandan, but stooped low and directed the ball past his hapless keeper. In the second half Unirea grew further in confidence. Dacian Varga and Marius Bilasco threatened while Sevilla struggled to cope with the long balls that bombarded their box. Just before the hour-mark Varas was called into a smart save after Varga connected well following a flick-on from Bilasco. Moments later the pair collaborated again - this time Varga striking high into the side-netting after Bilasco had received Brandan's long throw. In response Jimenez sent on Renato and Luis Fabiano, but Sevilla continued to struggle to find their stride. Their final substitute, Diego Perotti, injected a bit of pace and vigour into proceedings, but Unirea continued to hold firm and deny the Spanish side any clear-cut openings. Late on nerves started to get the better of the home team, Arlauskis proving a hero with a flying save to deny Konko from three yards out while Fabiano could only find the side-netting with a ferocious shot on the turn. But it was to be Unirea's day, the Romanian side hanging on for a 1-0 victory which sees them move one step closer to an historic qualification for the knockout stage. Petrescu's men will require a draw in Stuttgart to progress - Sevilla, meanwhile, will look back on a performance which, though determined, proved to be lacking quality when it mattered.

Dan Petrescu, coach of Unirea Urziceni: "We are happy with the attitude and the result, but we're not quite there. It is pity that Stuttgart won and we must draw or win in the last game. This has been a major victory for Romanian football against a team that can reach the quarter-finals. We have shown that when a team plays and has a good attitude they can win against a big team".