Belarus and Romania share points

Belarus continued their promising start to UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying by holding Romania to a goalless draw in Minsk.

Having won 1-0 in France on Friday, Belarus stuck with the same 4-2-3-1 formation that had secured that result. It was not enough to earn them another three points, however, as the visitors followed up their 1-1 draw against Albania with a second stalemate. Both sides took time to warm up at Dinamo Stadion and not even a late flurry of chances helped produce a goal at either end.

Sergei Kornilenko's shot from an acute angle provided a threat for Belarus early on, but the visitors probably had the better of the first half. Most notably, Ciprian Deac crossed for Bogdan Stancu to force Yuri Zhevnov into a diving save on 24 minutes, and the goalkeeper also had to block Gabriel Torje's shot from distance.

The tempo then rose in the second half and the last quarter of an hour proved the most entertaining of the game. Sergei Kislyak just missed the top corner from distance for Belarus, while at the other end substitute Ciprian Marica posed plenty of danger. Belarus will continue their campaign in Luxembourg on 8 October, the day before Romania visit France.