Astra stun Steaua to win maiden Romanian Cup

FC Astra secured one of the greatest Romanian Cup final upsets in the history of the competition with a 4-2 shootout win over league champions Steaua Bucharest to lift their first major trophy on Friday.

Astra´s Cyprus striker Vincent Laban, Brazilian left back Vincent Laban, Budescu and Portuguese striker Yazalde, on loan from Braga, scored in the shootout to secure the trophy.

A tense match had ended goalless after extra time and both sides finished with 10 men after Steaua midfielder Lucian Sanmartean and Astra striker Denis Alibec were sent off.

Steaua, playing in their 29th Cup final, were overwhelming favourites but Astra enjoyed the better of the game at the National Arena, creating more chances and earning 13 corners.

Steaua lost Sanmartean when he was shown a straight red card eight minutes after the break for a foul on Constantin Budescu.Astra were also down to 10 men in the seventh minute of the first period of extra time when Alibec was given his marching orders for fouling Steaua´s Cape Verde defender Fernando Varela.

"There are almost 50,000 Steaua fans and only 2,000 Astra supporters but we made history tonight," goalkeeper Silviu Lung Jr told reporters.
"It´s a great achievement and I´m so proud."

Astra were founded in 1934 but disappeared from the football map after a merger with city rivals Petrolul Ploiesti in 2003. They were known as Astra Ploiesti until September 2012, when they moved from the city to the Danube town of Giurgiu.