Romania beats Armenia 3-0 in Group 1

Romania beats Armenia 3-0 in Group 1

AP Worldstream
Jun 08, 2005

Gigel Bucur scored two goals and Ovidiu Petre added another Wednesday
to lead Romania over Armenia 3-0 in a World Cup qualifier.

Romania, which lost to the Netherlands on Saturday, started the game
with a revamped squad with many new players, including Bucur.

Romania pushed for an early goal, and defender Cristian Chivu came
close to scoring after only three minutes, but his powerful shot from
inside the box was deflected wide by a defender.

Petre broke the deadlock in the 30th minute with a header from six
meters (yards). It was Petre’s first goal for the national team.

Romania made it 2-0 in the 40th when Bucur broke into the Armenian box
and beat the goalkeeper with a well placed shot to the far corner.

Armenia missed its biggest chance in the dying minutes of the first
half when Ara Hakobian hit the post with a shot from inside the box.

Bucur, who was playing his first match as a starter, scored again in
the 83rd minute with a shot to the top far corner.

“This is a time for reconstruction of the national team,’ Romania
coach Victor Piturca said.

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Lineups:

Romania: Bogdan Lobont; Cosmin Contra (Flavius Stoican, 67), Gabriel
Tamas, Cristian Chivu, Razvan Rat, Ovidiu Petre, Dorinel Munteanu
(Ionut Mazilu, 87), Gigel Bucur, Mihaita Plesan, Gigel Coman (Nicolae
Mitea, 80), Marius Niculae.

Armenia: Roman Berezovski; Sarkis Hovsepian, Romik Haciatrian, Karen
Dohoian, Alexander Tadevosian, Eghise Melikian, Ara Hakobian, Agvan
Mkrcian (David Grigorian, 85), Armen Sahgeldian, Edgar Manusarian
(Arman Karamian, 54) Aram Voskanian (Robert Arzumanian, 46).