Dinamo Bucureşti claim Romanian Super Cup

UEFA Europa League hopefuls FC Dinamo Bucureşti are celebrating their second Romanian Super Cup victory after beating CFR 1907 Cluj on penalties to win the 14th edition of the competition at Bucharest's National Arena.

Also triumphant in 2005, Romanian Cup holders Dinamo saw off Cluj 4-2 from the spot at the end of a 2-2 draw to deny the league champions their third success in the traditional season curtain-raiser. Cluj's two previous wins, in 2009 and 2010, had both come at the end of penalty shoot-outs.

Diogo Valente fired Cluj ahead in what proved a dramatic game with 36 minutes gone, but Dinamo changed things around after coach Dario Bonetti opted to replace captain Marius Niculae with George Ţucudean at half-time. The substitute made his first contribution with a well-taken equaliser shortly after the hour mark.

Three minutes later, Cluj lost captain Ricardo Cadu to a second yellow card, but the champions resisted until the 101st minute, when Ţucudean made it 2-1 to Dinamo. The cup winners' joy lasted just two minutes, however, as Pantelis Kapetanos, another second-half substitute, levelled the scores with a header.

With no further goals added, the outcome had to be decided on penalties, and Cluj's two misses from the spot to Dinamo's one spelled success for Bonetti's side.