Steaua Bucharest crashed out of Europe as they drew 1-1 at home with Slavia Prague.
Slavia secure Uefa Cup spot
Steaua Bucharest crashed out of Europe as they drew 1-1 at home with Slavia Prague.
The Romanian side have not won at the Stadionul Ghencea in the group stages of Europe's top club competition since 1996 and prior to kick-off they knew three points were required to keep alive hopes of a place in the Uefa Cup.
Steaua, who were already out of this season's UEFA Champions League, took the lead they required when Valentin Badea put them in front in the first half, but Zdenek Senkerik equalised with 12 minutes to go to end their hosts' Uefa Cup hopes.
The home side had started the brightest and Badea was unfortunate not to put his side in front early on when he hit home, but he was denied by an offside flag.
Dominate
However, Badea did not have to wait long for his goal as he prodded home in clumsy style after Slavia defenders David Hubacek and Marek Suchy had collided with 12 minutes on the clock.
Steaua then went on to dominate the half and on 33 minutes Badea could have doubled the advantage, but his close range volley was excellently saved by Martin Vaniak.
And Andrian Neaga should also have done better when he latched onto a clever cross from Marius Croitoru and hit wide.
Scrappy
Slavia, offered little as an attacking force in the first half and the trend continued in the second half.
After the interval it was a scrappy affair and the game was badly disrupted by a series of substitutions.
Chances remained at premium and Steaua, who also had to target a victory against Arsenal in their final Group H game to progress, looked set to take the points.
However, on 78 minutes Senkerik snuck in to head in and confirm Slavia's place in the Uefa Cup.
| Steaua Bucharest |
Team Statistics |
Slavia Prague |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 5 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
0 |
| 4 |
Corners |
0 |
| 16 |
Fouls |
24 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 80.7 |
Passing Success |
66.2 |
| 24 |
Tackles |
27 |
| 83.3 |
Tackles Success |
85.2 |
| 63.2 |
Possession |
36.8 |
| 50.5 |
Territorial Advantage |
49.5 |
|
