Śląsk stun Brugge in six goal classic
2013-08-12 16:11:55
Śląsk Wrocław stunned Belgian heavyweights Club Brugge with a superb away performance to qualify for the Europa League playoff round last night. WKS now await their opponents in the next round of the competition, with Sevilla and Eintracht Frankfurt among the strongest sides they could face.
With Śląsk a goal to the good after the first leg, many would have predicted that the visiting team would sit back and park the bus in front of goal. WKS were in no mood to keep to the script however, and took advantage of some slack defending to take the lead in the 8th minute. Kaźmierczak found Sobota in acres of space on the right hand side, and with only the keeper to beat, Sobota kept his cool and drilled the ball into the back of the net.
That goal meant that Brugge required another 3 more to win the tie, forcing them to throw bodies forward and go for the jugular. A series of chances for the Belgians ensued, including one strike that crashed off the bar, but Śląsk held out for a one goal advantage going into the break.
The second half followed the same frantic end to end pace as the first, and it was the Belgians who struck next. Lior Refaelov's swerving shot from just outside the penalty area deceived Gikiewicz in goal, whose hand was not strong enough to palm the effort away.
Refaelov's goal should have put the wind back in Brugge's sails, but Wrocław were far from ready to lie down to their opponents and bounced back within seconds. Brilliant passing play from Stevanović and Mila set up a golden opportunity for Paixao, who made no mistake with his one-on-one chance. The goal set the away fans into raptures and dealt a crushing blow for the Belgian side, who yet again would need another 3 goals to progress.
The 3 goals required to go through pushed Brugge even further forward than ever, leaving them vulnerable to a sucker-punch on the counter attack. Unfortunately for the homeside, that's just what happened, as Śląsk extended their advantage in the 76th minute courtesy of dodgy keeping. With the pacey Sobota looking at another opportunity to run through on goal, Brugge shotstopper Mathew Ryan came flying out of his goal to block the young Pole's progesss. Sobota got to the ball first however, and cooly composed himself before accurately placing the ball into the empty net.
With the aggregate score at 4-1, the tie was all but dead – but Brugge didn't give up. In the dying moments the home side grabbed two conciliation goals from Oscar Duarte and Tom De Sutter, but in the end it wasn't enough to prevent Śląsk from recording a superb European victory.
Club Brugge - Śląsk Wrocław 3:3 (0:1)
Bramki: Refaelov 58, Duarte 80, De Sutter 90 - Sobota 9, 76 Paixao 60
Club Brugge: Ryan - Hogli, Duarte, Mechele, De Bock, Vasquez (77 Gudjohnsen), Simons, Blondel (46 Refaelov), Wang, De Sutter, Lestienne.
Śląsk: Gikiewicz - Ostrowski (55 Socha), Pawelec, Kokoszka, Dudu, Stevanović, Kaźmierczak, Sobota, Mila, Plaku, Paixao (83 Patejuk).
Yellow cards: Lestienne, De Sutter, Wang - Ostrowski, Paixao, Socha, Paraiba.
Referee: Miroslav Zelinka (Czechy).
Fans: 25 945.
That goal meant that Brugge required another 3 more to win the tie, forcing them to throw bodies forward and go for the jugular. A series of chances for the Belgians ensued, including one strike that crashed off the bar, but Śląsk held out for a one goal advantage going into the break.
The second half followed the same frantic end to end pace as the first, and it was the Belgians who struck next. Lior Refaelov's swerving shot from just outside the penalty area deceived Gikiewicz in goal, whose hand was not strong enough to palm the effort away.
Refaelov's goal should have put the wind back in Brugge's sails, but Wrocław were far from ready to lie down to their opponents and bounced back within seconds. Brilliant passing play from Stevanović and Mila set up a golden opportunity for Paixao, who made no mistake with his one-on-one chance. The goal set the away fans into raptures and dealt a crushing blow for the Belgian side, who yet again would need another 3 goals to progress.
The 3 goals required to go through pushed Brugge even further forward than ever, leaving them vulnerable to a sucker-punch on the counter attack. Unfortunately for the homeside, that's just what happened, as Śląsk extended their advantage in the 76th minute courtesy of dodgy keeping. With the pacey Sobota looking at another opportunity to run through on goal, Brugge shotstopper Mathew Ryan came flying out of his goal to block the young Pole's progesss. Sobota got to the ball first however, and cooly composed himself before accurately placing the ball into the empty net.
With the aggregate score at 4-1, the tie was all but dead – but Brugge didn't give up. In the dying moments the home side grabbed two conciliation goals from Oscar Duarte and Tom De Sutter, but in the end it wasn't enough to prevent Śląsk from recording a superb European victory.
Club Brugge - Śląsk Wrocław 3:3 (0:1)
Bramki: Refaelov 58, Duarte 80, De Sutter 90 - Sobota 9, 76 Paixao 60
Club Brugge: Ryan - Hogli, Duarte, Mechele, De Bock, Vasquez (77 Gudjohnsen), Simons, Blondel (46 Refaelov), Wang, De Sutter, Lestienne.
Śląsk: Gikiewicz - Ostrowski (55 Socha), Pawelec, Kokoszka, Dudu, Stevanović, Kaźmierczak, Sobota, Mila, Plaku, Paixao (83 Patejuk).
Yellow cards: Lestienne, De Sutter, Wang - Ostrowski, Paixao, Socha, Paraiba.
Referee: Miroslav Zelinka (Czechy).
Fans: 25 945.