Romania beat last-placed Lithuania 2-1 in the UEFA Nations League on Tuesday after a goal by Denis Dragus in the 65th minute to win League C Group 2.
Romania initially struggled to dominate the match, with Lithuania opened the score after just seven minutes.
Armandas Kucys (Lithuania) converted the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner. Past Florin Nita in the 7th minute.
Just 11 minutes later, Razvan Marin converted the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner to equalize.
In the second half, no side managed to dominate until the “Tricolors” went on the counter attack in the 65th.
Denis Dragus (Romania) right footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom right corner, assisted by Dennis Man following a fast break.
Mircea Lucescu’s team finished the leader in Group 2 of League C, with maximum 12 points after the first four rounds. Kosovo won 3-0 against Cyprus, at home, also in this round and occupies second place, with 9 points.
In September, the Tricolorii swept past Kosovo and Lithuania – scoring three goals on both occasions – and normal service resumed on Saturday evening.
Serie A stars Dennis Man and Razvan Marin put the visitors two up against Cyprus in Larnaca, before Tottenham Hotspur defender Radu Dragusin sealed a 3-0 win before half time.
Since veteran coach Mircea Lucescu replaced Edward Iordanescu in the summer – sitting back into the national-team hotseat some 38 years after his first spell in charge – Romania have continued their recent progress.
Occupying 45th place in FIFA’s latest world rankings, they have followed up a seven-match unbeaten streak in away qualifiers by winning twice on the road in this year’s Nations League.
Romania had history on their side: heading into the match, they have already won all of their last six meetings with Lithuania, dating back to a World Cup qualifying clash in 2008.
Lithuania’s most recent defeat in that sequence was last month’s 3-1 loss in Bucharest, from which they could have picked up a point, only to be denied when their hosts struck twice in the closing stages.
