Europa League Qualifiers

LIVE NOW: Red Bull Salzburg vs. FC Pafos!

Haris Tabakovic(Bild: GEPA)

It was late, but it happened: Red Bull Salzburg has secured an advantage in the first leg of the third qualifying round of the Europa League! The former serial champions prevailed 1-0 over Pafos FC on Thursday in their European Cup debut under coach Danny Röhl, thanks to a late goal by “super sub” Haris Tabakovic (88th minute). The match was temporarily suspended for nearly two hours due to heavy rain. The second leg will take place on August 13 (7 p.m.) in Limassol.

Röhl made only one change to the lineup that secured a 1-0 victory against TSV Hartberg in the league opener. Striker Edmund Baidoo, who had recently expressed a desire to leave the club, returned to the starting lineup after being left out of the squad over the weekend and following a discussion with the coach. Enrique Aguilar therefore had to settle for a spot on the bench for the time being. The Cypriot cup champions were led by 39-year-old Brazilian captain David Luiz, who won the Champions League with English powerhouse Chelsea in 2012.

Long Break for Fans and Players
The latter and his teammates came under early pressure in front of 7,704 fans amid pouring rain; Salzburg’s first dangerous attempt came from a left-footed shot by Gaoussou Diakite (10th minute). Four minutes later, Polish referee Damian Sylwestrzak halted the match because the ball was frequently unable to roll properly on the severely damaged field and sent the teams to the locker rooms. There, the players had to wait a long time, as play was not cleared to resume until after the third inspection of the field.

At 9:13 p.m., the match resumed in light rain, but the course of the game remained unchanged. Salzburg dominated, earning eight corner kicks by halftime, but was unable to capitalize on them. The most dangerous chances came from shots by Baidoo (16th minute), Diakite (26th minute)—who hit Yorbe Vertessen—and Vertessen (29th minute). After the restart, a 1-0 lead seemed likely twice early on. A free kick by captain Nikolas Veratschnig hit the side netting (47th minute), and a volley by European Cup debutant Valentin Zabransky came very close (56th minute).

Zawieschitzky made a brilliant save
Subsequently, last season’s Champions League participant—coached by Ricardo Sa Pinto—was able to open up the game and create two excellent scoring opportunities of its own. A few minutes after a header by Dragomir (58'), Lele found himself one-on-one with Christian Zawieschitzky after a careless turnover by Dominik Schmid, but the “Bulls’” new No. 1 made a spectacular save, taking the ball right off the Brazilian’s foot (61').

After 70 minutes, Baidoo had to leave the field with a thigh strain—at that point and shortly before, four fresh attacking players—Sota Kitano, Karim Konate, Aguilar, and Tabakovic—had entered the game. That injected new momentum into the game. Konate had a shot on goal (76'), but missed the target. Tabakovic, however, was able to demonstrate his goal-scoring instinct. Following a delicate cross from Barry, Veratschnig laid the ball back to Tabakovic, whose first shot was blocked, but whose follow-up found the back of the net. This marked the team’s third competitive victory, following the 7-1 win in the ÖFB Cup in Oberwart and the league victory against Hartberg.

The mood was dampened, however, when Aguilar landed awkwardly on his right hand following a tackle with Ken Sema—who was shown a second yellow card—and appears to have suffered a serious injury.

The result:
FC Red Bull Salzburg – FC Pafos 1–0 (0–0)
Salzburg, Red Bull Arena, 7,704 spectators, Referee Damian Sylwestrzak (POL)

Goal: 1–0 (88.) Tabakovic

Yellow-red card: Sema (93./foul)

Yellow cards: Barry and Luiz, Sunjic

Salzburg: Zawieschitzky – Veratschnig, Boma, Zabransky, Schmid – Diabate (58. Mazurek), Barry – E. Baidoo (70' Tabakovic), Diakite (70' Aguilar), Redzic (64' Kitano) – Vertessen (65' Konate)
Pafos: Majecki – Brito (80' Mammadov), Goldar, Luiz, Ioannou – Sunjic, Rodrigues – Quina (42' Sema), Dragomir (88' Pepe), Teixeira – Lele

Second leg on August 13 (7:00 p.m.) in Limassol