Soccer-Cluj march on in Romania, Wisla and Dinamo in charge

Soccer-Cluj march on in Romania, Wisla and Dinamo in charge

Mon Mar 10, 2008 9:39am GMT

By Zoran Milosavljevic

BELGRADE, March 10 (Reuters) - Round-up of the weekend soccer action in eastern Europe:


ROMANIA

CFR Cluj moved a step closer to their first league title after Eugen Trica and Argentine midfielder Sebastian Dubarbier scored in a 2-0 home win against Gloria Buzau.

Trica broke the deadlock and Dubarbier scored with a superb solo effort after weaving his way past three defenders from the halfway line to keep Cluj eight points clear at the top.

Champions Steaua Bucharest, in second place, kept alive their own title hopes with a 1-0 success at Pandurii Tigru Jiu that also enabled them to leapfrog city rivals Rapid, who slipped to a 1-0 home defeat by Poli Aek Timisoara.


POLAND

Second-half goals from Marek Ziencuk and Pawel Brozek handed runaway leaders Wisla Krakow a 2-0 home victory over Belchatow, stretching their unbeaten run to 20 matches.

Groclin Grodzisk are a distant second, 13 points adrift, after an Adrian Sikora hat-trick helped them to a 5-0 home rout of struggling newcommers Polonia Bytom.

Legia Warsaw slipped one place to third, a shock 2-1 defeat at bottom team Zaglebie Sosniowec denting their forlorn title hopes.


UKRAINE

Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho headed in a cross by compatriot Willian to give front-runners Shakhtar Donetsk a 1-0 win at Vorskla Poltava and keep them two points ahead of champions Dynamo Kiev with a game in hand.

Dynamo came from behind to beat Metalurg Zaporizhya 2-1 at home while Dnipro, who are a further point behind, slipped from second to third after a 1-1 draw at Naftovyk Okhtyrka.


SERBIA

Leaders Partizan Belgrade beat Smederevo 1-0 at home to go five points clear after second-placed Red Star Belgrade were held to a 2-2 draw at 10-man Banat Zrenjanin.

Former Serbia defender Nenad Djordjevic scored a 24th-minute winner for Partizan while Banat twice came from behind to earn their first draw in eight matches against Red Star.


CROATIA

Dinamo Zagreb stayed in the driving seat for their third successive league title after a 1-0 derby win over Hajduk Split sent them 16 points clear.

Closest rivals Rijeka scraped a 0-0 draw at mid-table Zadar while third-placed Hajduk are 18 points off the pace after an Ivica Vrdoljak header sank them at the Maksimir stadium.


CZECH REPUBLIC

Slavia Prague twice relinquished the lead in a 2-2 draw at third-placed Banik Ostrava that put them five points clear of champions and city rivals Sparta, who were playing sixth-placed Brno later on Monday.

David Strihavka scored Slavia's first and set up the second for Martin Abraham but Vaclav Sverkos and Lukas Magera replied for Banik, who stayed seven points off the pace.

HUNGARY

A Jozsef Kanta brace steered MTK Budapest to a 3-1 win at neighbours Ujpest, extending their lead to three points after Honved Budapest were held to a 0-0 draw at Fehervar. (editing by Justin Palmer))