Universitatea Craiova held on for a 2-1 victory over KuPS on Wednesday at the Stadionul Iuliu Hațieganu, advancing in the Europa League third qualifying round. The Romanian side took control early, but KuPS refused to go away despite being outshot and outplayed across the ninety minutes. By then, the visitors had already lost their most dangerous midfielder before the break.
V. R. Gasc gave the hosts a torrid evening from the start, bursting into the box and finishing in the fourth minute. It was a simple strike, the kind that catches a defence still finding its rhythm. KuPS had not yet adjusted to the tempo, and Gasc made sure they paid for it. To be fair, the Finnish side would have expected to take something from this fixture after their 1-1 draw earlier in the week.
The second goal came from the spot in the forty-third minute. S. Nsimba stepped up and punished KuPS from a corner that had gone nowhere. The penalty changed the complexion of the match entirely, even though the visitors continued to press for an equaliser. Hamalainen had already been replaced in the forty-sixth minute, a substitution that suggested the manager was trying to protect a lead rather than chase one.
C. Mora added a third goal in the sixty-second minute, though it was only the second for Craiova. The striker had been waiting for an opening, and when KuPS switched off at a set piece, he made them regret it. The stadium fell silent as the Romanian side camped in the final third. What followed was a series of substitutions that told you everything about a team grasping at straws.
Craiova dominated the numbers without always looking like it. They registered 117 attacks to 115, but the difference was in the quality of their chances. Seven shots on target against KuPS's two showed a sharper edge in the final third. Possession sat at 52 per cent, but possession alone rarely wins matches. It is the moments that matter, and Craiova had more of them.
KuPS made three changes before the hour mark, bringing on A. Puukko in the seventy-ninth minute and adding two more in the eightieth. They needed fresh legs, but fresh legs cannot fix a team that has been exposed. The yellow cards told a different story altogether: five between the two sides, with Craiova's D. Matei and N. Bancu joining the book at crucial moments.
The result moves Craiova forward in the qualifying rounds, while KuPS head home with nothing to show for their efforts. They had drawn 1-1 in the reverse fixture, but this time the hosts ended a barren spell with a performance that felt deserved. The deeper squad showed its strength when the game opened up.