Albania holds Romania to 1-1 draw in qualifier

PIATRA NEAMT, Romania, Sep. 4 – Albania midfielder Gjergji Muzaka scored a late equalizer last week Friday in a 1-1 draw at Romania in qualifying for the 2012 European Championship.
Muzaka headed the ball past two defenders and goalkeeper Bogdan Lobont from a free kick in the 88th minute.
Bogdan Stancu had given Romania the lead 10 minutes earlier, turning the ball into goal from Gabriel Muresan’s header following a corner.
Romanian soccer was dealt another frustrating blow. The 1-1 result gives Albania an unexpected point and continues the struggles for a once strong Romanian team, coming off a fifth place finish in their World Cup qualifying group.
The missed points are a setback for Romania, the second pot team in Group D, who also saw Bosnia and Herzegovina get three points on the road at Luxembourg. Perception held Romania’s biggest challenge for the group’s second spot was Bosnia and Herzegovina, but after being drawn at home by Albania, Romania is left playing catch-up.
Albania did register road points in World Cup qualifying, scoreless draws against Malta and Portugal.
Over in Paris, Laurent Blanc’s first game as France manager was a disaster as they were beaten 1-0 by Belarus thanks to a goal in the 86th minute. The French Football Federation’s decision to ban a few players seems to have backfired on them as they’re now worse than ever.