AZ Alkmaar beat Romanian side Astra Giurgiu 2-0 on Thursday evening to seal their place in the Europa League group stage.
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Trailing 3-2 from the first leg AZ went into the game having to attack the Romanian side, but goalkeeper Silviu Lung Jr was on top form to deny both Markus Henriksen and Thom Haye early on.
The goalkeeper was proving unbeatable under immense pressure from John van den Brom’s side, but eventually Lung Jr was beaten as Jop van der Linden’s free kick flew through his hands on 80 minutes. Substitute Robert Muhren then assured AZ’s progress four minutes later with a cool finish after being played through on goal by Maumer Tankovic.
With the 2-0 victory AZ progressed 4-3 on aggregate and will now join Ajax and Groningen in Friday’s group stage draw. AZ are in pot two.