Lethargic Portugal leave it late

Portugal 1: Costinha 90

Romania 0

Referee: G Veissiere (France).

Booked: Portugal - Figo (27 mins). Romania - Hagi (16 mins), Petrescu (22 mins), Contra (27 mins).

It was just as well for Kevin Keegan that his side recorded what was being seen, even by many of his critics, as something approaching an historic victory on Saturday evening.

Had they lost things would have been bad enough for the England coach but his cause wouldn't have been helped either by the fact that a good deal of shine was taken off Portugal's second-half display in that memorable Eindhoven game by this rather dismal defeat of Romania in Arnhem.

As a contest the game had about as much soul as its venue, the Gelredome, a slightly smaller version of the ground which the FAI wish to build in Citywest. The association's plans are aimed at producing a mass of steel and concrete which is self-financing with football something of an afterthought. Likewise these two sides came to achieve something that had very little to do with producing a memorable spectacle.

Both managers said openly enough afterwards that a draw would have done them although at that stage Emerich Jenei must presumably have been counting on his side beating an England team with nothing to play for tomorrow evening. Instead his men will have to dramatically raise their game if they are going to win and even then they will have to hope that the Portuguese don't ease up still further in their final group game against the Germans.

The maths would have been somewhat different had the Romanians managed a draw which they very nearly did. In truth neither side looked to have either the inclination or the ability to break the deadlock in a game that probably provided less entertainment for the beleaguered crowd than watching the Gelredome's pitch slide out under one of the stands would have.

When the fourth official signalled that there would be four minutes of added time it seemed a little harsh on the already bored spectators and when the French referee played even beyond the 94th minute we were getting into the realms of "cruel and unusual punishment".

He clearly knew something that the rest of us didn't, though, because with 95 minutes and 42 second played Figo floated in a diagonal free-kick from the left and Costinha, having lost his marker Laurentiu Rosu, headed past Bogdan Stelea from half a dozen yards out.

Not surprisingly the Romanians were a little upset about the timing of the setback afterwards although when the amiable Coelho Humberto remarked that "when the referee says it's finished, it's finished; you don't go home before that", it was hard to disagree.

Jenei's side actually had fractionally the better of the game in the second period, done nothing with the advantage and then taken a nap at a critical moment. For lesser follies teams have been known to take an early trip home.

Whether the Romanians do leave this week remains to be seen, of course, but what the goal did guarantee was Portugal's place in the last eight, something that was being widely taken for granted long before this game kicked off. Quite how they'll fare in their first knock-out game next weekend is far from certain for after the stunning second-half display against England, it was hard to see anything worth getting excited about here.

Joao Pinto, reportedly signing for Chelsea by the end of the week, looked anonymous, Sa Pinto was second rate when he came on and Luis Figo - valued at some £50 million by a couple of the Italian giants - more or less disappeared between the 15th minute and that set piece in the 96th.

That the goal was as big a surprise to the Portuguese as to the rest of us was underlined by the fact that its scorer was a defensive midfielder making only his fifth international appearance. He had only been brought on with three minutes of ordinary time remaining in order to help protect his tiring defence at the other end: a fact acknowledged with a certain amount of bemusement by Humberto who smirked while conceding that "no, I didn't send him on to score a goal but sometimes these things happen".

For the Romanians the goal may well spell the end of the road for them at these championships not least because Gheorghe Hagi's first-half booking, his second in successive games means that he will miss the match against England. If his side fails to win without him then the chances are that this, his 124th cap, will have been the last time that the 35-year-old was seen in his national colours.

Sad though that might be it would also be a rather fitting conclusion to the Galatasaray midfielder's international days, for the game, if it is remembered at all, will be recalled as a wasted opportunity for Hagi and the Romanians. All too familiar territory for both parties concerned.