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Romanian international centre-back Cosmin Moti was the hero of the night yesterday as he led Bulgarian side Ludogorets Razgrad into the final draw of this season’s Champions League after they scrapped through on penalties against Steaua Bucharest.
Steaua Bucharest was only moments away from Champions League qualification, carrying their 1-0 advantage from their first leg into the final minutes of the second leg which was still goalless. Then, Ludogorets had their first big moment as their Brazilian forward Wanderson tied the game with a late goal.
Defender forced to keep after goalkeeper sent off
However, there were more twists to be had. Defender Cosmin Moti was forced into goal-keeping duties after the Bulgarian keeper Vladislav Stoyanov was sent off in the final minutes of extra-time for having hacked down Steaua’s Fernando Varela. With all three substitutions already having been made, Comi came to Ludogorets’s rescue.
Comi came forward to slot in the first penalty kick and then went on to save two more in the shoot-out to lead the Bulgarian club to a 6-5 victory and into their first ever Champions League.
This would have been an even-sweeter moment for Moti, who has spent most of his career with Steaua’s bitter cross-town rivals Dinamo Bucharest. Speaking to the media, he sounded ecstatic at having lead only the second Bulgarian side into the Champions League after Levski Sofia in 2006.
“It’s the first time I’ve played as a goalkeeper,” he said.
It was a tough game, but we’re a good team and we played very well. We should have won before the penalties.“
Ludogorets, who were only formed in their current guise in 2001 have won three successive league titles and are based in the small town Razgrad, which has a population of less than 35,000. They play their home matches at their 8,000-capacity Ludogorets Arena. However, they had resort to hosting their game against Steaua at Vasil Levski national stadium in the Bulgarian capital Sofia because it is the only suitable arena in the Balkan country to host Champions League games.
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