Dundee Utd 0
Din. Bucharest 1
Cup Winners' Cup (2nd Round 1st Leg)

Match Report

Pre-match expectations that this would be a very difficult tie against an excellent side proved all too accurate. Fast on the break, supportive in midfeld and calm at the back, Dinamo count amongst the best sides we have played in European competition. This is not to say we played badly and had it not been for a last minute goal, we would certainly have deserved the goalless draw which appeared to be our reward until Matuet struck. We made a good start to the match and almost took an early lead when Raphael Meade headed a Kevin Gallacher cross over. Two late clearances from the visitors defence then foiled our attacking efforts, before Dave Bowman's dangerous low cross was cut out by their 'keeper. A little over quarter of an hour had gone before we saw any attacking threat from Dinamo. Matuet played the ball into Camataru, but the star striker's shot on the turn was too high. We had a lucky let-off ten minutes later when the ever dangerous Vaiscovici sent in a low cross right in front of goal, and when the ball was returned it struck Billy Thomson on the back but was cleared to safety. Paul Hegarty, not for the first time, was up with the attack but his shot went over. This sparked off a period of sustained pressure by us, but Dinamo took the sting out of the situation with long spells of possession football until the interval.

The second half opened with chances at both ends with both Raphael Meade and Matuet creating danger. In the 51st minute Dave Beaumont drilled in a free-kick low to the 'keepers right but Stelea got down well to clutch the ball. Dinamo had claims for a penalty when Vaiscovici went down after a challenge by Billy Thomson. One of the best chances came in the 65th minute when a flick by Raphael Meade found Kevin Gallacher, but his shot after a diagonal run, went narrowly past the wrong side of the far post. A minute later Kevin Gallacher saw his shot saved. Vaiscovici was causing some problems when Dinamo broke forward but fortunately his finishing didn't match his fine footwork. However, the same cant be said of Matuet's strike in the final minute when he hammered in a shot from the edge of the box to give us a mountain to climb in Romania next Wednesday.