Romania end long goal drought to keep Euro hopes alive

After nine of 10 matches, Romania are second on 17 points in Group F, three behind Northern Ireland, who beat Greece 3-1 to reach the finals. Hungary, who beat Faroe Islands 2-1, are third on 16.

Hungary, who have a better head-to-head record, visit Greece while unbeaten Romania, who have conceded only two goals in the qualifying campaign, travel to Faroe Islands on Sunday.

The hosts dominated the match but wasted many chances, allowing Finland to break the deadlock on the break midway through the second half when Joel Pohjanpalo gave Ciprian Tatarusanu no chance with a precise shot.

Romania's vociferous fans were frustrated with the team's failure to convert possession into goals once again with Dragos Grigore and Gabriel Torje hitting the post and Finland keeper Lukas Hradecky making a couple of excellent saves.

But Anghel Iordanescu's men finally scored thanks to Hoban, who made no mistake from close range for his first-ever international goal, ending Romania's 429-minute drought.