Europa Conference League 2nd Qualifying Round, 2nd leg
Teams in CAPITALS (except RFS and AGF) through to ECLQ3
Champions Path Byes: Lincoln Red Imps FC (GIB) and FC Flora (EST)
August 1
Champions Path
_ = unseeded team
VALMIERA FC (LAT) v SP Tre Penne (SMR)_ 7-0 (4-0), 10-0 on aggregate (Toņiševs 3', 68', Nigretti 6' (og), Veips 9', Kayramani 12', Ndoye 73', Jaunzems 90'+3)
Not much to say here except that the Latvians appeared to have had a bit of pity
after the first twelve minutes.
But I feel that the sheer fact that real minnows like the San Marino teams still
exist is an interesting contrast to the actual progress teams from countries like
Kosovo, the Faroes, or even Andorra have undeniably made.
FC SWIFT HESPER (LUX) v The New Saints FC (WAL) 3-2 (1-1), 4-3 on aggregate (Stolz 2', Alioui 62', Martins 66'; McManus 22' (pen), 71' (pen))
It appeared as if TNS keeper Connor Roberts would easily be first to a wayward long back pass, but he dithered, allowing Dominik Stolz to instead push the ball
through his legs. Even though TNS subsequently hit the woodwork twice the Luxembourgers were clearly superior, and added two more through two new arrivals -
former Moroccan international Rachid Alioui tapped in from close range and Portuguese centre-back Simão Martins, freshly signed from Trofense in Liga Portugal 2, punished some more bad defending. But penalties are also quite evidently Swift's thing, as in their four European matches so far they've been awarded three of them (missed two) and conceded four (all scored). So they
had to suffer until the final minute when Hesper keeper Dupire kept out Danny Davies's shot.
Quite the blow for the Cymru Premier, who will remain in the bottom 5, lose a European entry and will have to wait at least one more year, possibly longer, for
a first ever group phase.
FK PARTIZANI (ALB) v Atlètic Club d'Escaldes (AND)_ 4-1 (2-0), 5-1 on aggregate
(Cara 28', 45'+1, Rrapaj 64', Grezda 90'+5; Lopez 90'+4 (pen))
Too easy, as evidenced by Tedi Cara's second goal:
https://giphy.com/media/WB6cDLHyMq31GQPzAm/giphy.gif
FK Budućnost Podgorica (MNE)_ v FK STRUGA (MKD) 3-4 (2-2), 3-5 on aggregate (Đuričković 7', Adžić 45'+9, Sekulović 82'; Radeski 11', 45'+3, 74', Ibraimi 66')
Both sides exchanged early goals from corner kicks, and both sides scored in stoppage time of the first half - Marjan Radeski rolled in Nigerian youngster Hogan Ukpa's assist on the break:
https://giphy.com/media/XUjJNb8RLQUMjX1iI4/giphy.gif
while Vladan Adžić saw his free-kick deflected in:
https://giphy.com/media/HTy1KiOa26QwxL72Z7/giphy.gif
Besart Ibraimi's solo run and drive decided the tie for good, followed by Radeski
completing his hat trick by volleying in the rebound off a deflected shot. Petar
Sekulović's turn-and-shot came too late.
Main Path
* = seeded team
Balzan FC (MLT) v FC NEMAN GRODNO (BLR)* 0-0 (0-0), 0-2 on aggregate
Only one shot on target for Balzan was not good enough.
FC Zimbru Chișinău (MDA) v FENERBAHÇE SK (TUR)* 0-4 (0-0), 0-9 on aggregate (Tadić 49', Batshuayi 57', 59', Yüksek 77')
After a boring first half the floodgates opened in the second. Thanks to a helpful
deflection Dušan Tadić got the first goal for his new club from the shortest of
ranges:
https://giphy.com/media/zisV9pbrTATNUsKXaS/giphy.gif
Michi Batshuayi scored twice from tap-ins, and İsmail Yüksek scored a pretty brilliant fourth with a long-distance drive:
https://giphy.com/media/h0xmDXQPddkw00dMea/giphy.gif
August 2
Main Path
* = seeded team
AEK LARNACA FC (CYP)* v FC Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino (BLR) 1-1 (0-0), 4-3 on aggregate
(Pons 90'+6; Gorbachik 90'+8)
At the end of a poor match came two headers in stoppage time - former Alavés midfielder Pere Pons nodded in Ivan Tričkovski's looping cross:
https://giphy.com/media/rpYYRnKL6m7Tto0LRl/giphy.gif
and Valeri Gorbachik did the same from Dmitry Lisakovich's cross:
https://giphy.com/media/sAti3SqMJgoPsLGZTh/giphy.gif
The first European match this year that a Cypriot team didn't win.
F91 Diddeleng (LUX)* v GŻIRA UNITED FC (MLT) 2-1 (1-0), 2-3 on aggregate (Hadji 38', 84'; Wilkson 87')
Düdelingen were all over the Maltese from the start, and deservedly took the lead
when a free-kick by Moroccan striker Samir Hadji (some might remember his father
Mustapha's goal against Norway at the 1998 World Cup) went straight through the poorly built Gżira wall. It was also Hadji who levelled the overall score when he
headed in Ivan Englaro's cross, but Gżira are a cat with nine lives in Europe, and
one quick break ended with Brazilian in the Mediterranean Jose Wilkson heading in
from close range.
The second year in a row that Gżira reach the third round of the Europa Conference
League qualifiers. Quite impressive for a team of their stature.
August 3
45 matches. Phew.
Champions Path
FC Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) v ĦAMRUN SPARTANS FC (MLT) 0-1 (0-1), 1-3 on aggregate (Đuranović 45'+2; Red Cards: Chiabrishvili (Din, manager) 45'+1;
Đuranović (Ħam) 46')
Genk winger Joseph's older brother Seth Paintsil, who had just moved to Malta following lengthy spells first with Jaro and then in the lower reaches of the Austrian Bundesliga, provided the cross that Montengrin forward Uroš Đuranović
gathered to fire in:
https://giphy.com/media/L30p0uAhsMPhC9oQ9R/giphy.gif
The Georgians never got anything going, not even with one half in numerical advantage.
For a team that once was one of the strongest in the former Soviet Union, and have
a Cup Winners' Cup in their trophy cabinet to show for it, Dinamo's European results in recent years have really been a bit tragic.
FC Urartu (ARM) v FCV FARUL CONSTANȚA (ROM) 2-3 (1-0), 4-6 on aggregate
(Antwi 11', Sabua 47'; Nedelcu 53', Alibec 57', 90'+2)
Things looked really bad for the Romanian champioms after Urartu's Ghanaian right-back Nana Antwi had been given all the time in the world to measure a shot
past Farul keeper Aioani:
https://giphy.com/media/vXXzo6LdleItQQtay0/giphy.gif and Leon Sabua had tapped in the rebound after Aioani had saved against Sabua's
fellow Russian Artem Maksimenko:
https://giphy.com/media/VJSHB4LE0YhZuNUIxw/giphy.gif
but Farul replied immediately - Dragoș Nedelcu tapped in a corner kick, and veteran forward Denis Alibec (two matches for Inter's senior team, back in the day) was sent clear by youngster Mazilu's clever flick:
https://giphy.com/media/aQyEAO2gt97oJ1WAgs/giphy.gif
Subsequently the match was on the edge for the longest time until Alibec finished
off a counter attack at the death.
Larne FC (NIR) v KF BALLKANI (KOS) 1-4 (0-2), 1-6 on aggregate
(Bonis 60' (pen); Gripshi 27', 36', Rrahmani 46', Kryeziu 66')
The Kosovar champions dominated in Northern Ireland as well, Nazmi Gripshi, Albion
Rrahmani and Almir Kryeziu connecting with each other just as in the first leg.
Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL) v FERENCVÁROSI TC (HUN) 0-2 (0-1), 0-7 on aggregate (Zachariassen 31', Mmaee 90')
One Mmaee brother, Ryan, has just left Ferencváros for the Championship and Stoke City, but the other one, Samy, is still playing in Budapest, and he got a late second goal as the Hungarians followed up last week's rout with another easy
win in Ireland.
Main Path
* = seeded team
FC TOBOL (KAZ) v FC Basel 1893 (SUI)* 1-2 (1-2), 4-3 on aggregate
(Déblé 43' (pen); Kade 26', Augustin 32' (pen))
As the whole tie has been nothing but a big mess for last year's semifinalists, Basel's departure for Kazakhstan was delayed by over a day due to a broken cockpit
window on their chartered plane - they arrived in Kostanay less than twelve hours
before the match, and due to injuries, illnesses, and impending transfers with a
severely depleted squad.
Still, there was a certain consensus among many observers that a comparative European juggernaut like Basel would find a way to squeeze through regardless, and
those views were quickly vindicated as German under-19 international Anton Kade capped off his solo run with a perfect shot into the far corner:
https://giphy.com/media/mkdWRE8wcnazrkaiUR/giphy.gif
and soon afterwards a completely unnecessary push from behind by Tobol right-back
Bagdat Kairov on Liam Millar led to a somewhat soft penalty, despatched by former
Leipzig striker Jean-Kévin Augustin to level the aggregate score.
But the Serbian referee threw a spanner in the Swiss works when he apparently felt
he had to make amends for his earlier call, because he awarded Tobol an extremely
harsh handball penalty after Basel keeper Salvi had pushed Miljan Vukadinović's
shot against the arm of his own defender Finn van Breemen.
Nevertheless, 45 minutes were still left to overcome the one-goal deficit, but Basel were completely devoid of ideas in the second half, and Tobol with surprising ease held on to the result that let them reach the third Conference League qualifying round for the second year in a row.
FC SANTA COLOMA (AND) v FK Sutjeska (MNE)* 3-0 aet (1-0, 2-0), 3-2 on aggregate (Mourelo 35', Nierga 71', Garrido 96')
Three Spaniards with Segunda B experience scored to make up the first-leg deficit
and get the extra time winner, and so FC Santa Coloma, coached by Denis Cheryshev's father Dmitriy, become the first team from Andorra to reach a third qualifying round in Europe, and - momentarily - lift the Primera Divisió out of
the bottom five in the UEFA ranking for the first time ever.
On the other side, all three Montenegrin teams have been eliminated, and they will
remain third or even second from last.
FC PYUNIK (ARM)* v Kalmar FF (SWE) 2-1 (0-0), 4-2 on aggregate
(Dashyan 75', Harutyunyan 77'; Rajović 88')
The bad moment for Swedish club football continued in Armenia where within two minutes Artak Dashyan first lobbed Kalmar's Brazilian keeper Ricardo Friedrich from behind his own half-way line, then Nigerian forward Taofiq Jibril and Hovhannes Harutyunyan on the break outplayed poor substitute right-back Axel Lindahl and Harutyunyan fired in from near the penalty spot. Mileta Rajović's precise shot from twenty metres came too late.
FC SPARTAK TRNAVA (SLK)* v FK Auda (LAT) 4-1 (3-0), 5-2 on aggregate
(Daniel 36', Djuricin 38', Štetina 45'+1, Procházka 75'; Achol 88')
The Latvian cup winners are a mid-table team in the Virslīga this year, so despite
the decent first-leg result it was not very surprising that Spartak left them little chance in Slovakia. Erik Daniel opened the scoring with a brilliant long-
distance curler; Austrian striker Marco Djuricin, loaned out from Rijeka, in his
second game for his new club got his second goal by volleying in a cross by Spartak captain Martin Mikovič; centre-back Lukáš Štetina fired in from close
range after the Latvian defence had failed to clear Filip Bainović's free-kick,
and later on Roman Procházka's shot was unluckily deflected in by Auda's Croatian
captain Božo Mikulić. Auda got a consolation goal through New Zealand-trained winger Manyumow Achol, and I'm now wondering whether he's the first South Sudanese
international to have scored a goal in the European cups.
FK Panevėžys (LTU) v HAPOEL BE'ER SHEVA FC (ISR)* 1-1 (0-0), 1-2 on aggregate (Mbo 79'; Vítor 53')
Portuguese-born Israeli captain Miguel Vítor headed into the empty net after Linas Klimavičius's awkward header against his own crossbar had left his poor keeper Černiauskas stranded:
https://giphy.com/media/UB0QYf7fJnI9fcG6gP/giphy.gif
But what looked like a stroll in the park for Hapoel at least became a bit more difficult when Gillingham-trained Congolese forward Noel Mbo headed in a cross by
Nicaraguan international Ariagner Smith.
SABAH FK (AZE) v FK RFS (LAT) 2-1 (0-0), 4-1 on aggregate
(Mickels 77', Apeh 90'+4; Ikaunieks 67'; Red Card: Zjuzins (RFS) 34')
Despite having been reduced to ten already in the first half when Artūrs Zjuzins
collected two bookings inside four minutes, the Riga Football School halved the first-leg deficit when Jānis Ikaunieks, back in Latvia after a spell in Finland,
elegantly controlled Dragoljub Savić's cross, and a bit less elegantly poked it
into the net:
https://giphy.com/media/VVQcDpoOJMYpctxOqL/giphy.gif
Still, as ten Latvians were pushing for the goal that would take them to extra time, Sabah punished them twice on the break.
FK Kauno Žalgiris (LTU) v KKS LECH POZNAŃ (POL)* 1-2 (0-1), 2-5 on aggregate (Uzėla 90'+6; Marchwiński 14', Ba Loua 90'+2)
The tie was already all but decided when Lech's new Slovenian centre-back Miha Blažič acrobatically headed Jesper Karlström's cross back across goal, and Polish
Under-21 striker Filip Marchwiński nodded in from close range. Ten minutes from
time former long-time Hannover forward Artur Sobiech sent a penalty against the right post, but Ivorian Adriel Ba Loua still got a late second for Lech after a solo run on the break. The Lithuanians at least scored a consolation goal when Karolis Uzėla's shot was somewhat clumsily deflected in by the substitute Alan Czerwiński:
https://giphy.com/media/lMsKG0rk5OyZmCPgqr/giphy.gif
FC AKTOBE (KAZ) v FC Torpedo Kutaisi (GEO)* 1-2 (1-0), 5-3 on aggregate (Samorodov 31'; Arabidze 58', Bugridze 66'; Red Card: Sandokhadze (Tor) 77')
Maksim Samorodow decided the tie for good following a lovely assist by Bauyrzhan
Baytana:
https://giphy.com/media/pZq2IjDJzn1DiMHEEz/giphy.gif
but Giorgi Arabidze's weirdly deflected long-distance shot:
https://giphy.com/media/pVKh1rUd2OJtXEDNJD/giphy.gif
and Irakli Bugridze's tap-in at least gave the Georgians the coefficient points.
KuPS (FIN)* v DERRY CITY FC (IRL) 3-3 (2-1), 4-5 on aggregate
(Tuominen 24', Savolainen 44', 58'; Kavanagh 13', Diallo 55', Duffy 69')
Already early on the Finnish defence completely forgot about Cian Kavanagh at the
far post and he nodded in a cross by former Dundee United and Dundee FC winger Paul McMullan:
https://giphy.com/media/CzabsdPAHSSIX6FXkA/giphy.gif
Jasse Tuominen equalised from a corner kick, and Saku Savolainen levelled the aggregate score thanks to a deflected shot. Derry took the aggregate lead again when a crazy ping-pong shot allowed Man City academy alumnus Sadou Diallo to score
at the second attempt:
https://giphy.com/media/eAQt4KAaXvdpIDTpXU/giphy.gif Savolainen once more got the overall equaliser from Tuominen's through ball, but
Michael Duffy was again left unimpeded by the Finnish defence to head in the decisive goal from a Diallo cross:
https://giphy.com/media/g6TLAxmYZ09Ub0t652/giphy.gif
Terrible result for the Veikkausliiga where Kuopio are currently leading the standings.
MKS POGOŃ SZCZECIN (POL) v Linfield FC (NIR)* 3-2 (0-1), 8-4 on aggregate (Koulouris 49', Wahlqvist 58', Bichakhchyan 75'; Mulgrew 16', McClean 51')
To their credit, Linfield continued with their happy-go-lucky approach from the first leg and got the lead thanks to a deflected shot by their 37-year-old captain
Jamie Mulgrew. But a comeback was never really on the cards, and former LASK flop
Efthymis Koulouris continued his good moment in Poland and nodded in the equaliser. Kyle McClean headed Linfield in front once more, but their naïve defending led to the Northern Irish conceding again, and Armenian midfielder Vahan Bichakhchyan even got the winner with a fabulous shot from distance:
https://s11.gifyu.com/images/SccZ1.gif
so Linfield didn't even get a coefficient point for their troubles.
Zalaegerszegi TE FC (HUN) v NK OSIJEK (CRO)* 1-2 (0-1), 1-3 on aggregate
(Ikoba 82'; Gergényi 9' (og), Špoljarić 73')
In the first leg at home Osijek had to wait until stoppage time to score, but in
Hungary it took them only nine minutes because following ZTE keeper Gyurján's save the ball smacked Bence Gergényi most unluckily in the face:
https://giphy.com/media/BUJPFlOAaoV3xb8xQP/giphy.gif
In the second half, Josip Špoljarić made it two on the break, and US boy Eduvie
Ikoba scoring via a deflection was only consolation.
FC DILA GORI (GEO)* v FC Vorskla Poltava (UKR) 3-1 (1-0), 4-3 on aggregate (Parulava 45', Kovtalyuk 71', Gale 86'; Stepanyuk 74')
Who knows what Vorskla's young keeper Isenko was doing miles outside his net, but
Brazilian in the East Alef Santos lobbed over him and against the crossbar, and Otar Parulava volleyed the rebound into the empty net:
https://giphy.com/media/rpYq2NSxe92Lf1ROCv/giphy.gif
A Ukrainian gave the Georgians the aggregate lead, Mykola Kovtalyuk ran onto Barbados international Thierry Gale's through ball and rounded Isenko, and while
Ruslan Stepanyuk levelled the overall score when he reacted quickest to a loose ball in the box, the Barbadian got the decisive goal from a long ball over the top, and a fair share of luck:
https://giphy.com/media/zcgepydEJhPN0vDg6r/giphy.gif
Dila are indeed the one Georgian team that do get breaks, and also the only one to
survive into ECLQ3.
NEFTÇI PFK (AZE)* v FK Željezničar (BIH) 2-0 (1-0), 4-2 on aggregate
(Saief 20', Eddy 68')
But for the Bosnian teams it's the usual story instead. Frenchman Keelan Lebon's
assist carved the Željo defence open leaving erstwhile US international
Kenny Saief, now in his second year in Azerbaijan, with a simple finish:
https://giphy.com/media/jra3libVnUbMsPuFF4/giphy.gif
and Angolan-Spanish-Azeri midfielder Eddy got the second from a corner kick, at the second attempt:
https://giphy.com/media/lcfCMJsHBbnEKRbZMa/giphy.gif
ROSENBORG BK (NOR)* v Crusaders FC (NIR) 3-2 aet (1-1, 1-1), 5-4 on aggregate (Nelson 34', Þorvaldsson 102', Cornic 108'; Lowry 45', Heatley 105';
Red Card: Heatley (Cru) 105'+3)
Canadian winger Jaydon Nelson beat Crusaders keeper Tuffey from a tight angle to give the former Norwegian giants the lead, but Philip Lowrey tapped in from close range after 16-year-old Rosenborg midfielder Sverre Nypan hadn't been up to the physical challenge:
https://giphy.com/media/4AXbao8aA0De0bKgXx/giphy.gif Rosenborg's Icelandic forward Ísak Þorvaldsson headed the Norwegians in front again in extra time, but Paul Heatley's deflected shot levelled things once more:
https://giphy.com/media/RDBFNaDmnS48Dd1EyQ/giphy.gif
Heatley then turned from hero into goat as soon afterwards he received a second booking for time wasting, and against ten men French-Norwegian youngster Leo Cornic got the decisive goal by turning in the rebound after Tuffey had saved against Magnus Holte:
https://giphy.com/media/9IMPgQguOMVnDGqGqC/giphy.gif
A valiant fight, but Northern Ireland are the highest-ranked league to see all of their four teams eliminated.
ACS SEPSI OSK SFÂNTU GHEORGHE (ROM) v PFC CSKA-Sofia (BUL)* 4-0 (1-0), 6-0 on aggregate
(Matei 19' (pen), Aganović 70', Varga 90', Alimi 90'+5 (pen);
Red Card: Carreazo (Sof) 90'+7)
Sepsi had it very easy in the return leg as well, for their second goal Cosmin Matei and Adnan Aganović were allowed to send the ball around in the box at will:
https://giphy.com/media/160eEM9ZZgvdG738Wj/giphy.gif
In stoppage time CSKA-'s Colombian midfielder Marcelino Carreazo caused a penalty
and collected two bookings.
FC Petrocub Hîncești (MDA) v MACCABI TEL AVIV FC (ISR)* 0-2 (0-0), 0-5 on aggregate
(Guiagon 90'+1, Dor Peretz 90'+3)
Ivorian midfielder Parfait Guiagon and Dor Peretz made sure very late that all coefficient points would go to Israel.
RIGA FC (LAT)* v Kecskeméti TE (HUN) 3-1 aet (0-1, 2-1), 4-3 on aggregate (Muzinga 62', Mankenda 90'+5, Ngom 120'+2; Vágó 8')
Things appeared to go well for Kecskemét as Levente Vágó fired them into a two-
goal aggregate lead already early on, but Riga's Congolese left-back Ngonda Muzinga dove low to head in a cross by his compatriot Gauthier Mankenda at the far post:
https://giphy.com/media/n6rLnREskpt1Ah7tzN/giphy.gif
and as the Latvians laid siege to the Hungarian box, in the last minute of injury time Mankenda levelled the aggregate score with a precise shot from just inside the area:
https://giphy.com/media/DvI8fTUz9EeRgAEubj/giphy.gif
With extra time all but over Mouhamed Ngom's inswinging free-kick eluded everyone
on its way into the net:
https://giphy.com/media/nL6OWwtAQWzzcNkE2Q/giphy.gif
AC OMONOIA (CYP)* v Qəbələ FK (AZE) 4-1 (1-0), 7-3 on aggregate
(Bezus 5', 30' (pen), Lang 38', Coulibaly 59'; Isaiah 56')
Roman Bezus, who had scored a hat trick in the first leg, got a brace in this one
as well, and for once one goal came from a header, and not a set-piece as usual.
Hungarian centre-back Ádám Lang got another one from a cross, and Senou Coulibaly,
formerly of Dijon, and Nigerian journeyman striker Ahmed Isaiah exchanged goals in
the second half.
PFC LEVSKI SOFIA (BUL) v KF Shkupi (MKD)* 1-0 (0-0), 3-0 on aggregate
(Petkov 90'+11)
One bright spot for Bulgaria, Marin Petkov's very late long-distance strike made
certain of all coefficient points.
Bohemians Praha 1905 (CZE) v FK BODØ/GLIMT (NOR)* 2-4 (1-2), 2-7 on aggregate (Matoušek 26', Křapka 55'; Sørli 22', Moumbagna 42', Grønbæk 78', Sørensen 88')
With Rosenborg struggling, in the last couple of seasons it's been Bodø's job to
pick up the slack, and they performed in Prague as well, punishing the 'Kangaroos'
twice on the break, and twice from corner kicks.
FC Progrès Niederkorn (LUX) v FC MIDTJYLLAND (DEN)* 2-1 aet (1-0, 2-0), 2-3 on aggregate
(De Almeida 15', 52'; Chilufya 112')
Considering how little the Luxembourgers had showed in the first leg, it came as a
major surprise that they almost got the better of the big Danish favourites at home. Mayron De Almeida simply nutmegged Stefan Gartenmann to be left with a free
shot:
https://giphy.com/media/t4bWf4yGe0SQJeOvKt/giphy.gif
and the Belgian winger also curled in the aggregate equaliser:
https://giphy.com/media/gYBIHFVIwmxDY3tf87/giphy.gif
In the end, an energetic solo run capped off with an emphatic shot into the far corner by Zambian international Edward Chilufya saved FCM the blushes:
https://giphy.com/media/PoWHJq4auDpvDq5yoq/giphy.gif
Beitar Jerusalem FC (ISR) v PAOK FC (GRE)* 1-4 (1-2), 1-4 on aggregate
(Friday 45'+7; Gotlib 12' (og), Brandon 45'+1, Thomas 90'+2 (og),
Konstantelias 90'+6; Red Card: Douglas Augusto (PAOK) 40')
A horrific own goal by Beitar centre-back Edi Gotlieb set the Israeli on the road
to defeat:
https://giphy.com/media/wCGwhkYzvmAeKd33IQ/giphy.gif
but things didn't look so glum for them when another bad back pass at the other end of the pitch led to Brazilian in the Mediterranean Douglas Augusto being sent
off for pulling down Yarden Shua as last man, but Shua subsequently saw his penalty saved by PAOK's Croatian keeper Dominik Kotarski. Instead, English-Spanish
forward Brandon tapped in the Greeks' second. Beitar managed to pull one back even
before the break as their new Nigerian striker Fred Friday expertly headed in Shua's cross, but despite being a man up in the second half the Israeli chased in
vain the goal that would send the tie to extra time. Instead, the Ivorian substitute Trazié Thomas added another own goal to the tally when a shot parried
by Beitar's Portuguese keeper Miguel Silva caromed off him, and youngster Giannis
Konstantelias even scored a fourth on the break after the Beitar defence had once
more lost the ball in front of their own net.
ADANA DEMIRSPOR (TUR) v FC CFR 1907 Cluj (ROM)* 2-1 (1-0), 2-1 on aggregate (David 43', Ndiaye 90'+4; Mogoș 68' (pen); Red Card: Gravillon (Ada) 63')
Babajide David headed Adana in front from a corner kick, but Cluj appeared to have
the advantage when Inter youth product and Guadeloupe international Andreaw Gravillon scythed down Daniel Bîrligea in the box, got sent off, and Vasile Mogoș converted from the spot. But even though down to ten, the Turkish debutants
managed to score the decisive winner in stoppage time thanks to an honestly quite
brilliant free-kick routine:
https://giphy.com/media/IZe6Q0YlIAsZtFUUcw/giphy.gif
KF Tirana (ALB) v BEŞIKTAŞ JK (TUR)* 0-2 (0-0), 1-5 on aggregate
(Amartey 57', Aboubakar 75'; Red Card: Masuaku (Beş) 67')
A comfortable evening for Beşiktaş in Albania was only marred by Arthur Masuaku's
dismissal for an absolutely pointless late challenge.
FK Vojvodina (SRB) v APOEL FC (CYP)* 1-2 (1-1), 2-4 on aggregate
(Zukić 37'; Sarfo 27', Efrem 74' (pen))
Kingsley Sarfo's story is actually a rather sordid one - in 2018 he was convicted
for statutory rape while playing for Malmö, served two-and-a-half years in prison
and was deported from Sweden afterwards - which led to him relaunching his career
in Cyprus, first with lowly Olympiakos Nicosia, and now with APOEL. Dejan Zukić
equalised with an angled shot from close range, but veteran winger Georgios Efrem
decided the tie for good from the spot.
Not only is Cyprus the currently lowest-ranked league to still have all four teams
alive, they've also won seven out of eight matches in the process. Only AEK Larnaca were held to a draw.
Hammarby IF (SWE) v FC TWENTE (NED)* 1-1 aet (1-0, 1-0), 1-2 on aggregate (Erabi 38'; Steijn 115')
The disaster week for Sweden continued unabated. Young forward Jusef Erabi cancelled Hammarby's first-leg deficit thanks to a deflected shot that curved over Twente's German keeper Lars Unnerstall:
https://giphy.com/media/SHzzxLAq7J6oXBIIZB/giphy.gif
but a second goal eluded them, and in extra time Sem Steijn, who had already scored in the first leg, volleyed in Joshua Brenet's cross to send the Dutch through:
https://giphy.com/media/mS5TMqCF3JElDABIn1/giphy.gif
AGF (DEN) v CLUB BRUGGE KV (BEL)* 1-0 (1-0), 1-3 on aggregate
(Beijmo 3')
Aarhus fans might have entertained some hopes of a miraculous comeback when Felix
Beijmo headed in a corner kick after just three minutes, but that was as far as it got.
KF Drita (KOS) v FC VIKTORIA PLZEŇ (CZE)* 1-2 (0-0), 1-2 on aggregate
(Bl. Krasniqi 90'+2; Durosinmi 76', Jirka 90'+21 (pen);
Red Card: Bl. Krasniqi (Dri) 90'+19)
If you're wondering about the stoppage time, the match was interrupted twice in
the second half because of floodlight failures. A bit ironic, since 'drita' in Albanian means 'light'.
In a tight match with few chances Viktoria were more dangerous from headers, and
after one by Tomáš Chorý had come off the crossbar, his young Nigerian teammate
Rafiu Durosinmi just seconds after having come on as a substitute nodded in Erik
Jirka's cross. Drita's Congolese substitute Raddy Ovouka powered through on the left side before centring for Blerim Krasniqi to get the Kosovars the deserved equaliser:
https://giphy.com/media/PcNBeNsdYLKaEjaCQZ/giphy.gif
but in a pattern we've already seen in these qualifiers Krasniqi then got himself
sent off with a second booking, and his first had resulted from taking off his jersey in celebration for the goal. To make matters worse, Drita then gave up a handball penalty when Besnik Krasniqi (no relation, he is Kosovar and Blerim is Albanian) tried to clear a ball volleyball style:
https://giphy.com/media/PzKC7Cc3qiUBWB6saU/giphy.gif
and Jirka scored the decisive goal from the spot. In the 26th minute of stoppage
time Viktoria keeper Staněk pulled off a brilliant save to deny Muharrem Jashari.
MŠK Žilina (SLK) v KAA GENT (BEL)* 2-5 (0-1), 3-10 on aggregate
(Kaprálik 66', Bari 77'; Hjulsager 30', Cuypers 62', 89', Tissoudali 70', Gerkens 72')
Gent had fun with the very leaky Žilina defence in Slovakia as well. The best goal
of the night was scored by Tarik Tissoudali who curled one in from a tight angle.
HNK RIJEKA (CRO)* v KF Dukagjini (KOS) 6-1 (3-1), 7-1 on aggregate
(Pašalić 27', Ivanović 39', 45'+3, 90'+2, Goda 64', Djouahra 81'; Zylfiu 42')
Rijeka took no prisoners against the Kosovar debutants. Stuttgart and Dortmund youth product Marco Pašalić (no relation to Mario) after a corner kick emphatically smashed in a volley to open the scoring, and Austria-born 19-year-old
striker Franjo Ivanović, who was signed by Rijeka from Augsburg's amateurs, got
a hat trick.
HIBERNIAN FC (SCO)* v Inter Club d'Escaldes (AND) 6-1 (3-0), 7-3 on aggregate (Boyle 10', 22', Doidge 29', Campbell 48', 61', Youan 65'; De La Torre 83')
OK, so I guess Scottish pride was inddeed piqued, and Inter Escaldes keeper Adrià
helped with the first goal:
https://giphy.com/media/ssn2IRjPaPUFK05XdO/giphy.gif
What followed were two goals from headers, a bicycle kick by Welshman Christian Doidge:
https://giphy.com/media/Wdgv8L6BGBIJTqsSe8/giphy.gif
and Frenchman Élie Youan first providing the cross on the break that Josh Campbell
tapped in, then scoring the sixth with a smashing effort:
https://giphy.com/media/BufgOOBX4BZsBxdcOG/giphy.gif
The Andorrans at least got an equally nice consolation goal:
https://giphy.com/media/G0Le1QWThrL2rWanj2/giphy.gif
ARIS FC (GRE)* v FC Ararat-Armenia (ARM) 1-0 (0-0), 2-1 on aggregate
(Fabiano 80')
Hardly brilliant from Aris, but Brazilian in the Mediterranean Fabiano Leismann heading in a late free-kick was enough.
FC FCSB (ROM)* v FC CSKA 1948 Sofia (BUL) 3-2 (1-0), 4-2 on aggregate (Đoković 27', 82', Oc. Popescu 90'+1; Pedrinho 49', Daskalov 68')
In Bert's forum CSKA 1948 has been ingeniously described as being basically a 'spite team', just like the 'spite stores' described in Curb Your Enthusiasm:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YlA6gtha-w
But in Europe the two CSKA's were very much in step with each other, with both losing in Romania. CSKA 1948 did a bit better than CSKA-, and after Dutch-Croatian
midfielder Damjan Đoković had swept in the opener, two headers at the other end
actually meant that the aggregate score was tied for the longest time. But eight
minutes from time Đoković finished off a quick break with a nice chip:
https://giphy.com/media/kvtnGIdMVIHZMp20AS/giphy.gif and late on Octavian Popescu
rolled in a loose ball, so the two CSKA's combined didn't manage to get even a single coefficient point.
NK MARIBOR (SLO)* v FC Differdange 03 (LUX) 4-3 aet (1-2, 3-3), 4-4 on aggregate
(Kolar 5', Repas 62', Brnić 82', Iličić 120'+2 (pen); Castro 27' (pen), Trani 42', 46')
A wild match, and Maribor - like all the Slovenian teams this week, it seems - proved to be supreme escape artists. They opened the scoring early from a corner
kick, but soon also gave up a clumsy penalty, and then Differdingen shocked them
with two goals each side of the break - Guillaume Trani first raced onto Nestor Monge's through ball:
https://giphy.com/media/z2ylX7XYCz9tJlR26n/giphy.gif
and then got a pretty brilliant second practically all by himself:
https://giphy.com/media/o6bHiTYwiKVauYqlfy/giphy.gif
A rehearsed move after a short corner kick surprised the Luxembourg defence and helped Maribor to get back on track, and Ivan Brnić was allowed too much time and
space in the box and so he curled in the equaliser:
https://giphy.com/gifs/lZlOHiVjwm1IZtbUwu
Much like their compatriots from Niederkorn despite their valiant efforts the Luxembourgers fell in extra time - Théo Brusco was in a great position to intercept a pass into the box, but instead of the ball he caught the heel of Xhuliano Skuka, and Josip Iličić as experienced as he is calmly converted from the
spot.
FK Borac Banja Luka (BIH) v FK AUSTRIA WIEN (AUT)* 1-2 (0-0), 1-3 on aggregate (Cortes 49'; Gruber 53', Polster 65')
Just before the match Austria had to suffer quite the blow - just as their fans had dreaded all summer long, somebody triggered the rather low release clause for
their target striker Haris Tabaković, and so Austria's Swiss top scorer switched
underachieving capital clubs and left Vienna for Hertha BSC.
The biggest chance before the break fell to Borac when former long-time Rijeka right-back Zoran Kvržić shot against the crossbar, and so it wasn't entirely undeserved when Borac's speedy Colombian winger José Cortés headed in a deflected
cross to level the aggregate score:
https://giphy.com/media/wCFftmEM8AlPLYPIn2/giphy.gif
But Austria immediately replied with their best move of the evening at the end of
which Andreas Gruber tapped in Manfred Fischer's centre, and youngster Manuel Polster (again, no relation to Toni) scored a second with a move that would have
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