A shootout in Istanbul with a better ending for Slavia. The people of Prague succeeded on the field of Fenerbahce – Czech Television – Czech Television
Ibrahim Traoré sent the Czech champion to the lead just before the break, and in the 58th minute Dimitris Pelkas equalized, but between the 62nd and 64th minute Oscar Dorley and Ondřej Lingr replaced the guests. Finally, reduce Ferdi Kadioglu.
The Slavists in Istanbul missed the ill head coach Jindřich Trpišovský, who was represented by his assistant Jaroslav Köstl. The sixth team of the Turkish league lacked an injured Czech defender Filip Novák. Revenge is played in a week in Eden, and a draw is enough for Praguers to advance.
“It’s a big victory against a big club. We really appreciate it. I’m very proud of the boys, how they did it. But we’re only halfway through, the revenge will be very difficult,” Köstl told a news conference. “Jindra left it to us because we are here with the team. He sent his observations about the game during the break. I am glad that we won and made him happy,” he added.
The Czech team defeated the Turkish opponent in the cups after 11 matches. Slavia won the sixth outdoor match on the European stage for the first time and may continue to think about two quarterfinal participations in the European League from 2019 and 2021. The Prague high is the seminar year from 1996. Fenerbahce took the farthest in 2012 / 13, when on the way to the middle of the European League also eliminated Pilsen.
In the absence of the wounded Masopust and the card-punished Bah, the Schranz, an unconventional universal, eventually played on the right edge of the Slavic defense. The Krmenčík and Tecl attackers started on the bench and one of the winter reinforcements of the Prague people, Sor, came on the tip.
In the tactically tied start, they were the first to threaten the home team, but Valencia was still in a good position after the escape, looking unnecessarily. Since then, however, the people of Prague have had the upper hand in the first half. In the 18th minute, Sor ran into a long kick, bypassed the defender and got to the lime, but from a good position he overshot high. A while later, he got rid of his opponent Holeš in the lime, he hit the goalkeeper Bayindir with the first shot and narrowly missed the finish.
Slavia increasingly controlled the course and opened the score just before the break. After a long siege of home-grown lime, Plavšič’s shot center ended on the pole and the quick Traoré knocked the ball into the net. The 33-year-old defensive midfielder from Côte d’Ivoire scored for the first time since the end of September. Fenerbahce fans, who had filled about 50,000 stadiums in the Asian part of Istanbul, were escorted to the cabin by a deafening whistle.
“Good and fast terrain also helped us, I want to praise the local lawnmakers. I also have to pick up Ibru Traoré, he helped us a lot, he scored it, he worked it out. He started offensive actions, hat down,” Köstl said.
After the change of sides, the red-whites were relieved that after Ousou’s failed small home, the Italian referee did not consider Kačaraba’s intervention in Valencia as a failure. In the 54th minute, the guests were lucky when after a pass from Pelkas, Valencia fired a stick.
In the next four minutes, the most successful Turkish club in history, which won its last domestic title eight years ago, leveled it. Kadioglu stretched around Lingra, loaded under him, and Pelkas defeated Mandouse with a ground shot at the back pole.
But the Slavists took the lead back in just four minutes. The Prague team combined for a short time after a short standard, the home Szalai turned the vertical on Sora only to the side and Oscar promptly sent the ball from the lime line into the open goal, where the goalkeeper Bayindir was missing. The Liberian midfielder achieved the first goal in the cups and prevailed at his first competition start this year. He did not play in the league in the first three spring rounds due to a penalty for expulsion.
“Oscar already looked very good in training. The (winter) arrival of David Jurásek also helped him, he needs to work in a competitive environment. We have already forgiven him for exclusion at Baník, he played great today,” Köstl praised.
In less than two minutes, Fenerbahce offered the guests a third goal. After a big mistake in the home defense, Sor pushed the ball approaching Lingr and currently the best of the Praguers in the league shot was not wrong about the escape, Bayindir was easily crossed by the foot.
“Yira did a great job there and then it moved me. I’m concentrating on training, so it was an easy situation for me. The goalkeeper probably thought I’d put it around him, but I thought I’d put it on the front bar,” Lingr said, “I was supposed to go on the field in the first half, but in the end I went for a break. I am very happy that I helped the team and decided again, “he added.
In the end, Fenerbahce managed to reduce it. In the 83rd minute, after a short corner, Kadioglu stretched behind the lime and the ball after Olayink’s run ended behind Mandous. “I’m sorry for both goals scored, especially the second one. But the result is quite decent,” said Köstl, whose team unexpectedly lost in the league with the last Karviná at the beginning of the spring season and then lost in the home cup with Sparta.