Europa League Football

Astra 1 West Ham 1: Noble penalty not enough

A late equaliser from Denis Alibec saw Astra hold West Ham to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Europa League play-off on Thursday.

Captain Mark Noble scored from the penalty spot just before half-time to give the Premier League side a valuable away goal, but the hosts levelled with seven minutes to play at Marin Anastasovici Stadium to keep the tie finely poised.