CONSTANTA - Romania moved three points clear of Holland at the top of Euro 2008 Qualifying Group G on Saturday night after edging out Marco van Basten's men in wet and windy conditions in Constanta.
The only goal of a hard-fought contest came with 19 minutes to go when Dorin Goian tapped home at the far post after Holland keeper Maarten Stekelenburg had palmed out Paul Codrea's header.
The Dutch almost snatched a deserved equaliser in injury time but Rafael van der Vaart's shot clipped a post.
The opening 20 minutes were cagey with the two sides only managing to muster up one long-range effort each.
The first came from Holland's Demy De Zeeuw with his drive flying over the bar while Romania responded with a Cristian Chivu free-kick which flashed wide of the right-hand upright.
The visitors would have gone ahead midway through the first half had it not been for a poor miss from Wilfred Bouma.
Van der Vaart whipped over a corner from the left and the Aston Villa defender rose above his marker but his header struck the top of the bar when it should have been on target.
Holland, by now on top, had another chance to open the scoring after 34 minutes when Ruud van Nistelrooy got a shot away after turning smartly inside the area but his right-footed drive was parried away by home keeper Bogdan Lobont.
Romania upped the tempo after the break and only a wonderful save from Stekelenburg denied Mutu a stunning opener.
The Fiorentina forward found a yard of space 25 yards out and lashed in a dipping drive which Stekelenburg acrobatically tipped over the bar.
The breakthrough came after 71 minutes. Chivu's left-sided free-kick was flicked on by the head of Codrea and, although Stekelenburg brilliantly saved the midfielder's effort, the ball fell kindly for Goian to stab home.
Holland pressed forward in search of a leveller but didn't look like getting it until the dying seconds when Lobont could only punch clear Clarence Seedorf's free-kick to Van der Vaart on the edge of the area.
The Hamburg midfielder tried to curl it back into the far corner but his shot struck the outside of the upright and bounced to safety.
