Beşiktaş - next Thursday's opponent of Club Brugge in the Conference League - earned a 1-2 victory on a visit to Samsunspor. FC Lugano was also able to win and made it with clear 0-5 figures. Fresh champions Bodø/Glimt, on the other hand, went down.
Samsunspor - Beşiktaş 1-2
Beşiktaş had a good dress rehearsal for the confrontation with Blue-Black: it won 1-2 at Samsunspor's field. Beşiktaş took the lead after a quarter of an hour through Cenk Tosun, but the home team - in last place - equalized ten minutes later through former Seraing striker Marius Mouandilmadji. Beşiktaş did have most of the ball possession, but in terms of chances, the match remained balanced. In the end, it was ex-Genk defender Omar Colley who provided the decision five minutes before time. On a pass from Fernandes, he scored the 1-2.
Beşiktaş is currently in third place in the Turkish Süper Lig, nine points off the two leaders Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray. (SF)
Beşiktaş: Günok, Rosier, Uysal, Colley, Masuaku, Hadziahmetovic, Bulut (46' Aboubakar), Fernandes, Oxlade-Chamberlain (78' Tiknaz), Tosun (68' Bingöl), Muleka (95' Kiliçsoy).
Goals: 17' Tosun (0-1), 25' Marius (1-1), 84' Colley (1-2).
Yverdon-Sport FC - FC Lugano 0-5
FC Lugano finally managed to win again in its own country. It beat Yverdon-Sport by generous 0-5 figures, jumping to sixth place in the Swiss league standings.
During the first half, however, it did not look like it would be a goal-rich match. FC Lugano was the busiest team and could claim most of the ball possession, but did not score so the half-time score was logically 0-0.
The second half was just under 15 minutes away when FC Lugano managed to score three goals during four crazy minutes. First there was a goal from Hajdari on an assist from Uran Bislimi. The same Bislimi was able to serve Zan Celar a minute later who chased the 0-2 into the nets. Celar experienced a productive afternoon, as he also managed to score the 0-3. After that, FC Lugano's storm subsided for a while. Fifteen minutes before time, Hajrizi also scored a goal. He converted an assist from Steffen and scored the fourth goal for FC Lugano. In injury time, Babic was able to put the forfeit score on the scoreboard. (EV)
FC Lugano: Saipi, Arigoni, Lukas Mai, Hajrizi, Hajdari (78' El Wafi), Macek, Sabbatini, Bislimi (67' Belhadj), Steffen (82' Espinoza), Celar (77' Babic), Mahou (77' Cimignani).
Goals: 58' Hajdari (0-1), 59' Celar (0-2), 62' Celar (0-3), 74' Hajrizi (0-4), 90+1' Babic (0-5).
Brann Bergen - Bodø/Glimt 4-2
Fresh champions of Norway Bodø/Glimt played the topper on the field of chasers Brann Bergen. Bodø lost 4-2, substitutes Gulliksen and Kapskarmo mitigated after a 4-0 deficit.
Brann Bergen was clearly the better team in the first half and soon got ahead 2-0 through Finne. Only after half an hour could Bodø threaten: a header by Saltnes on a free kick was kept out of goal and Berg aimed a soft distance shot into the goalkeeper's hands. But even before halftime, Brann scored a third through striker Castro. Coach Kjetil Knutsen intervened after this poor first half and brought three new players onto the field, but that did not turn things around. The second half had just begun and Bodø/Glimt were already facing a 4-0 deficit. Finally, substitutes Tobias Gulliksen and Oscar Kapskarmo scored, but that was all. 4-2 was the final score in this topper, but the loss could certainly have been wider as Brann saw two goals disallowed for near offside. Thursday Bodø/Glimt hosts Lugano in the group stage of the Conference League. (KN)
Bodø/Glimt: Julian Lund - Fredrik Bjørkan, Odin Bjørtuft, Brede Moe, Brice Wembangomo (67' Fredrik Sjøvold) - Ulrik Saltnes, Patrick Berg, Sondre Fet (46' Amahl Pellegrino) - Albert Grønbaek, Faris Moumbagna (46' Oscar Kapskarmo), Sondre Sørli (46' Tobias Gulliksen).
Goals: 7' 28' Finne (1-0, 2-0), 39' 47' Castro (3-0, 4-0), 53' Gulliksen (4-1), 82' Kapskarmo (4-2).