bukari clinches first win for astra published: thursday 27 november 2014, 23.50cet fc astra giurgiu 1-0 gnk dinamo zagreb sadat bukari's goal earned astra their first victory in group d but they still could not qualify for the round of 32.
• sadat bukari scores the only goal of the game in the 50th minute • astra win for the first time in group d • neither zagreb nor astra can reach the knockout phase • next games: salzburg v astra, dinamo zagreb v celtic (11 december)
fc astra giurgiu picked up their first win in uefa europa league group d thanks to sadat bukari's 50th-minute strike as the romanian side climbed above gnk dinamo zagreb and off the foot of the section.
ıt was a surprise the game had to wait that long for a goal, astra in particular spurning a pair of excellent first-half opportunities when clean through. both fell to bukari, who burst clear of the offside trap in the 12th minute, but with the goal at his mercy miscontrolled the ball as he tried to round goalkeeper eduardo and it rolled harmlessly out of play.
two minutes later a defensive slip gave bukari another sight of goal and this time he shot wide. the croatian first league leaders' best chance of the half came in the 23rd minute when silviu lung saved from wilson eduardo as he advanced on goal before ángelo henríquez fired the rebound wide.
the breakthrough finally came five minutes after the restart when bukari dived to head astra in front after being picked out unmarked by takayuki seto's cross from the right. ıt proved all the home team would need to avenge their 5-1 loss to dinamo on matchday one, but with one match to go neither astra nor dinamo can catch fc salzburg or celtic fc in the top two places.
