Last minute equaliser guarantees Romania Euro 2016 play-off spot

It was a very frustrating yet fortunate evening for Romanian fans at the National Arena last night as they managed to steal a last-gasp point from a game in which they were the dominant side, breaking the national side’s longest ever goal drought of 428 minutes in the process. The draw was clinched in extra time by defensive midfielder Ovidiu Hoban who levelled the scoring after Finland’s Joel Pohjanpalo broke the deadlock in the 67th minute. During the first half, Romania had many chances that they were unable to convert into goals, even hitting the woodwork on one occasion. The Romanian players showed good attacking flair and skill throughout the game, creating 25 attempts on goal to Finland’s 10, and Finland responded by holding a tough defensive line, picking up four yellow cards in the process. This is Romania’s fourth successive draw in group F and the result will guarantee them a play-off spot for Euro 2016 however, if they are to gain automatic qualification for the tournament, they must win on Sunday in their match away to the Faroe Islands. Elsewhere in group F, Hungary came from behind to beat the Faroe Islands 2-1 in Budapest. Hungary is now just a point behind Romania in 3rd place. There was jubilation for group leaders Northern Ireland in Belfast as they cruised to a 3-1 victory over Greece and qualified for their first ever UEFA European Championship with a game to spare. Northern Ireland now joins Portugal, Iceland, the Czech Republic, England and Austria in sealing automatic qualification. There are still 13 automatic qualifying spots up for grabs which will be taken up by the top two teams from each group and from the best 3rd place finisher across all groups. The remaining eight third place finishers will compete in play-offs in November. By Dale Harris, editorial intern