Switzerland and Romania played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in their Group A clash of the Euro Cup football tournament at the Parc des Princes stadium here on Wednesday.
Bogdan Stancu (18th minute) converted a penalty to hand Romania an early lead before Admir Mehmedi (57th) restored parity for the Swiss in the second half.
The result puts Switzerland at the top of Group A with four points after two matches. Romania are third with one point, two behind hosts France.
Romania had produced a spirited fight in the 1-0 defeat to title favourites France in their first match. The East Europeans repeated a similar spirited fight against the more skillful Swiss who were high on confidence having started with a win over Albania.
Switzerland dominated most of the match and much of the action was confined to the Romanian half.
Romania were forced to defend tooth and nail but a fast counter saw Stephan Lichtsteiner bring down Alexandru Chipciu inside the Swiss penalty area. Stancu stepped forward to smash home the resultant penalty and give Romania the lead.
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Switzerland continued to dominate possession with Romania sitting back in defence. They were finally rewarded for their persistent aggression when Ahmedi slammed a loose ball into the net to salvage a point.
--IANS
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