Tributes were paid to the late Cameroon
international Patrick Ekeng at Tuesday's Romanian Cup final but his Dinamo
Bucharest side lost to CFR Cluj.
Ekeng died aged 26 after collapsing on the
pitch during a Dinamo match earlier this month.
There was a minute's silence before
kick-off and the game was halted in the 14th minute in memory of Ekeng, who
wore the number 14 shirt at the club.
Cluj
won 5-4 on penalties after the game ended 2-2 following extra time.
Ekeng
suffered a suspected heart attack shortly after coming on as a 62nd-minute
substitute in a match against Viitorul Constanta on 6 May. He was pronounced
dead two hours later.
Dinamo
had said that they would honour Ekeng's memory by sending the trophy to his
family in Cameroon if they had won it but despite taking a 2-0 lead it was not
to be.
Spanish
midfielder Juan Carlos converted the decisive spot-kick to win a fourth
Romanian Cup for Cluj, who finished eighth in the domestic championship
.
French
striker Harlem Gnohere opened the scoring for Dinamo from the penalty spot in
the 23rd minute before turning provider when he crossed for Eric Bicfalvi to
head home 13 minutes later.
After
scoring the goals, Gnohere and Bicfalvi ran to the touchline and lifted a shirt
with Ekeng's name and number on it to the delight of Dinamo fans, who threw up
large choreographed displays in memory of the Cameroon international.
Cluj
reduced the deficit two minutes after the break when Juan Carlos gave keeper
Vytautas Cerniauskas no chance with a powerful long-range shot.
The
Railwaymen pressed forward and their Portuguese captain Camora hit the cross
bar with a free-kick midway through the second half.
They
were finally rewarded for their persistence a minute before the end of normal
time when Spanish striker Cristian Lopez made it 2-2 with a header from Vitor
Bruno's free-kick.
Neither
side could find a winner in 30 minutes of extra-time and it was left to Carlos
to score the crucial spot kick in the penalty shoot-out.
No comments:
Post a Comment