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Soccer-Steaua join dark horses Astra in Romanian Cup final

By Zoran Milosavljevic BUCHAREST, April 17 (Reuters) - Steaua Bucharest remained on course for a domestic double with a 6-3 aggregate win over bitter rivals Dinamo Bucharest in their cup semi-final following a 1-1 draw in Thursday's second leg at the National Arena. Steaua, six points clear with seven games left as they bid to retain their league title, face second-placed Astra Giurgiu in next month's final after the season's surprise package won a dramatic return leg against Cup holders Petrolul Ploiesti. There was an electric atmosphere at the Bucharest derby, with both sets of fans creating a deafening roar in the covered 55,000-seater stadium where the national team play. An orchestra hired by the Dinamo fans played a symphony on the pitch as rival supporters let off dozens of firecrackers and flares shortly before kick off. Steaua midfielder Cristian Tanase put the tie beyond Dinamo's reach midway through the first half, taking a defence-splitting pass in his stride before placing the ball past advancing goalkeeper Cristian Balgradean. Striker Paul Pirvulescu came close to adding the second before Balgradean denied Mihai Pintilii when the Steaua captain had the goal at his mercy in the 70th minute. Constantin Grecu then squandered a gilt-edged chance at the other end but Dinamo, whose defensive errors were at the heart of their 5-2 first-leg defeat at the same venue last month, were not to be denied a consolation equaliser as Cosmin Matei swept home a loose ball from 10 metres in the dying minutes. Astra, who have hovered between the third tier and the top flight for the best part of the last two decades, achieved the club's biggest success on Wednesday after centre back Paul Papp headed an injury time winner to give them a 2-1 home success over Petrolul following a goalless first leg. Nigerian forward Toto Tamuz had headed the visitors into the lead midway through the first half before midfielder Constantin Budescu equalised and the towering Papp pounced in a goalmouth scramble to delight the capacity 9,000 home crowd. (Editing by Josh Reich)