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There will be no home final for FC Steaua București after a 1-0 defeat at FC Twente condemned them to a 2-0 aggregate loss in their UEFA Europa League round of 32 tie. Ola John did the damage last week at the National Arena, venue for the 9 May showpiece, leaving Steaua facing an uphill task in Enschede. That became a mountainous challenge just before the half-hour, however, Nacer Chadli making the most of an ill-timed slip from visiting keeper Ciprian Tătărușanu. Without a European away win in 11 attempts, Steaua looked to have the air of a team unaccustomed with seizing the initiative. It was little surprise the hosts' superiority on the ball soon started to tell, though it was a slice of fortune rather than a moment of brilliance akin to John's in the first leg which broke the deadlock on this occasion. Tătărușanu lost his footing as he went to control a back pass and Luuk de Jong pounced before squaring to Chadli, who calmly rolled into the unguarded net. Ilie Stan's side suddenly needed two without reply but, a handful of harmless shots aside, scarcely looked like getting one. Twente remained far more threatening, De Jong volleying over on the turn having controlled adroitly on his chest. Willem Jansen's effort was well parried by Tătărușanu, while De Jong's low strike was also kept out after a splendid passing move orchestrated by Chadli. Nikolay Mihaylov did eventually have to be on his toes with 12 minutes left, using a combination of legs and arms to deny Stefan Nikolić, who had managed a rare break behind the Twente defence. Bucharest still beckons for Steve McClaren's men, who face FC Schalke 04 next. [UEFA.com] |
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