Omonia Nicosia v Astra Giurgiu
Football : Europa League: Second Qualifying Round
Venue: "GSP Stadium", Nicosia (CYP)
Thursday 25th July – Kickoff time: 19:00 GMT+1
Omonia Nicosia (Cyprus)
The 20 times winner of the Cypriot first division, Omonia Nicosia
finished third last season to grab a Europa League spot, behind APOEL
Nicosia and Anorthosis Famagusta, two sides that had excellent UCL
campaigns over the last few years.
Omonia Nicosia holds a poor record against Romanian opposition, they’ve met Sportul Studentesc (1986), Dinamo Bucuresti (2005) and Vaslui (2009) in the qualifying rounds of the Uefa Cup and couldn’t avoid being eliminated by these sides. They also lost to both Steaua and Dinamo Bucuresti in the European cup (1987 and 1984).
The Cypriot sides is now in the pole position of this tie after grabbing a 1-1 draw at the National Arena in Bucharest against Astra Giurgiu, so they are just 90 minutes away from eliminating a Romanian side for the first time in their history.
Their goal was scored by former Rapid Bucuresti defender, the Portuguese Joao Paolo Andrade, (one of their many foreign players) who headed in an excellent cross.
Omonia Nicosia holds a poor record against Romanian opposition, they’ve met Sportul Studentesc (1986), Dinamo Bucuresti (2005) and Vaslui (2009) in the qualifying rounds of the Uefa Cup and couldn’t avoid being eliminated by these sides. They also lost to both Steaua and Dinamo Bucuresti in the European cup (1987 and 1984).
The Cypriot sides is now in the pole position of this tie after grabbing a 1-1 draw at the National Arena in Bucharest against Astra Giurgiu, so they are just 90 minutes away from eliminating a Romanian side for the first time in their history.
Their goal was scored by former Rapid Bucuresti defender, the Portuguese Joao Paolo Andrade, (one of their many foreign players) who headed in an excellent cross.
Astra Giurgiu (Romania)
Astra GiurgAstra Giurgiu finished fourth in the 2012-2013 Liga 1 season, which
allows them to participate in a European competition for the first time
in their history.
They’ve had big ambitions about their first ever presence in a European cup and started off with a convincing 3-0 victory over Domzale in the previous round, but failed to take a lead after the first leg against Omonia.
Astra Giurgiu controlled the game and even took the lead after just eight minutes through Tembo, but then wasted some excellent chances and allowed Omonia to get back into the game in the second half.
Astra will now have a tough job, but their morale was boosted by a 4-0 away Liga 1 victory over Viitorul Constanta over the weekend.
iu (Romania)
They’ve had big ambitions about their first ever presence in a European cup and started off with a convincing 3-0 victory over Domzale in the previous round, but failed to take a lead after the first leg against Omonia.
Astra Giurgiu controlled the game and even took the lead after just eight minutes through Tembo, but then wasted some excellent chances and allowed Omonia to get back into the game in the second half.
Astra will now have a tough job, but their morale was boosted by a 4-0 away Liga 1 victory over Viitorul Constanta over the weekend.
iu (Romania)
