Late celebrations amid rain-struck Pafos drama
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Tabakovic grabs winner in home qualifier
Torrential downpours, a two-hour interruption, and deep-lying opponents turned the first leg of the UEFA Europa League qualifiers into a real test of endurance at our Red Bull Arena. Our Red Bulls invested a tremendous amount of effort on the waterlogged pitch and were ultimately rewarded with a well-deserved 1-0 home victory thanks to a late goal from Tabakovic.
Match summary
Kick-off under the rain
The focus quickly shifted to the climatic conditions. Right at kick-off, torrential rain began, soaking the pitch at the Red Bull Arena and causing the ball to roll more slowly with each passing minute.
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10' – Diakite from distance
The Malian provided the highlight of a promising opening phase, in which we clearly dominated both in terms of possession and chances, enjoying around 65 percent of the ball. Gaoussou Diakite's magnificent long-range shot had us on the edge of our seats as we were so close to taking the lead.
15' – unscheduled two-hour break
The inevitable happened: the persistent downpour made a football match impossible. Referee Sylwestrzak suspended the game at 19:15 and play resumed at 21:15.
16' – Restart with chance for Baidoo
After the two-hour break, our lads seamlessly continued their strong performance. A beautiful combination put Edmund Baidoo in an excellent scoring position just outside the penalty area, but Pafos goalkeeper Majecki comfortably saved the low, wet shot.
26' & 33' – No reward despite pressure
Three Cypriot defenders blocked a great chance for Yorbe Vertessen in the penalty area before Diakite's follow-up shot was blocked by a crowd of players. Shortly afterward, Vertessen's 18-metre effort sailed wide. Despite further attacks by Baidoo and the hard-working Vertessen, our lads narrowly missed scoring the deserved opening goal.
In the remaining minutes before the half-time whistle, our Red Bulls maintained control of the game, though without creating any further significant scoring opportunities, while the visitors remained harmless with long balls.
61' – Zawieschitzky saves superbly after fright on the break
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We remained the better team, while Sa Pinto's side, led by David Luiz, retreated deep into their own half. However, when a long ball from the visitors slipped through our defence after a miscontrol by Schmid, a Pafos striker suddenly found himself completely unmarked in front of our goal. Lele appeared to have already rounded our keeper, but Christian Zawieschitzky pulled off an absolutely brilliant save, making a sensational clearance off the line in the nick of time!
77' – Konate almost wins it
In what had become a balanced and sluggish final phase, we had lost our clear superiority. Then a powerful cross from Nikolas Veratschnig created another dangerous moment: Karim Konate slid in to meet the cross, but his shot went just wide of the post.
88' & full-time – Super sub Tabakovic seals the win!
Against Hartberg, we scored the winning goal in the 89th minute, but this time we were able to celebrate a minute earlier! After superb build-up play from Abubakr Barry and Veratschnig, new signing Haris Tabakovic was there to pounce on the rebound and put the ball over the line, sending the Red Bull Arena into raptures at the end of this long evening.
Unfortunately, there was one more setback: Enrique Aguilar suffered what appeared to be a serious arm or wrist injury in a foul by an opponent at the end of stoppage time.
But the home victory was ours. Next Thursday there will be the decisive in the second leg in Limassol. Before that, our lads face WAC away on Sunday on the second matchday of the ADMIRAL Bundesliga, where we'll aim for another three points.
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Match data
Line-ups & substitutionsFC Red Bull Salzburg: Zawieschitzky – Veratschnig ©, Boma, Zabransky, Schmid – Diabate (58. Mazurek), Barry – Baidoo (70. Tabakovic), Diakite (70. Aguilar), Redzic (64. Kitano) – Vertessen (64. Konate)Pafos FC: Majecki – Goldar, Luiz ©, Ioannou – Quina (42. Sema), Brito (80. Mammadov), Sunjic, Guga, Biel – Lele, Dragomir
Goal: Tabakovic (88.)Attendance: 7,704Referee: Damian Sylwestrzak (POL)Yellow cards: Barry (75./Foul) - Luiz (36./Foul), Sema (43./Foul), Sunjic (81./Foul)Red card:Sema (90.+3/Second yellow card - Foul)
Injury news
- Unavailable for this match were Hendry Blank (ill), Anrie Chase (thigh), Stefan Lainer (heel), Johannes Moser (adductors) and Justin Omoregie (thigh).