Cup Winners Cup, first round, first leg (17/9) ======================================= Rapid Bucuresti (Romania) - Vålerenga 2-2 (0-0) Giulesti stadium Att: 9000 1-0 Marius Sumudica (52) 1-1 John Carew (53) 2-1 Zeno Marius Bundea 75) 2-2 Carew (88) Referee: Zoran Arsic, Yugoslavia. Yellow card: Tore Krogstad, Hai Ngoc Tran, Espen Haug, Vålerenga. - An excellent result for Vålerenga, with Carew being the big hero after scoring both goals. As expected, the home team were more technial and created more chances, but the Norwegians defended very well, and actually had the better of the opportunities. The second goal from Carew deserves a special mentioning, a thunderbolt volley from 18 metres. The two away goals will be crucial going into the second leg, but the tie is definitely not over, as Rapid looked quite capable of winning even away from home. Cup Winners Cup, first round, first leg (1/10) ======================================= Vålerenga - Rapid Bucuresti (Romania) 0-0, agg. 2-2, Vålerenga on away goals Ullevaal stadion Att: 6257 Referee: Romans Lajuks, Latvia. Yellow card: Zeno Bundea, Stefan Nanu, Marius Sumusica, Rapid Bucuresti. - After the 2-2 in Romania, Vålerenga would go through if they didn't concede any goals, so focus on the night was on tight defensive organization. The plan worked to perfection, as Rapid, which were by far better individually, created very few chances, despite nearly complete posession of the ball for 90 minutes. The difference in playing style was striking. Vålerenga had only Carew up front, and although he worked very hard, he was unable to do much on his own. Still, he had the best chance of the night as he shot wide from 5 metres after a cross was flicked into his path. Also, Ødegaard hit the post with one of his special freekicks. So all in all, despite having very little posession, the Norwegians created the better chances. But had the Romanians known the words break-through and flanks, they would have been in the second round... Instead they opted to penetrate through the middle by the use of short passes, which was a useless tactic as Vålerenga defended in deep. Now, the Norwegians face Besiktas of Turkey in the next round, which should be an interesting encounter.