Raków Częstochowa takes no prisoners. Aris Limassol defeated, but be careful
The match between Raków Częstochowa and Aris Limassol seemed as difficult as the previous clashes of the Polish champions in the Champions League qualifiers, but it must be admitted that they coped decently. A one-goal advance is great news before the second leg, although the hosts may feel unsatisfied.
After eliminating Karabakh Agdam, the team of Polish champions had to face an opponent who had flexed his muscles in the previous match. As many as 11 goals scored by BATE Borysów made an impression, but not on Raków Częstochowa.
Władysław Koczerhin started shooting in the match Raków Częstochowa – Aris Limassol
Already in the first minutes the hosts boldly went on the attack, but the first action did not succeed, because Cebula had no one to pass from the right side to the center of the visitors’ penalty area. In the 7th minute Medaliki appeared to the “sixteen” opponents in a larger group. A pass along the right flank put Tudor in good position, followed by a perfect pass to Kocherhin. The Ukrainian put the ball into the empty goal without any trouble.
The charges of Alexei Szpilewski were not scared at all and immediately set off to make up for the losses. In most cases Raków defended effectively, although in the 20th minute it got hot. Then Bengtsson hit from the air – fortunately missed. Until the end of the first half, the initiative was still on the side of Aris, but the inhabitants of Częstochowa closed access to their penalty area. As a result, they held a minimal lead until the break.
Fabian Piasecki increased the score of the match between Raków Częstochowa and Aris Limassol
After the change of sides, the hosts again pressed a bit more and the effect was almost as fast as in the first half. This time, however, there was a slight lack of accuracy after Papanikolaou’s strike. Onion and Silva’s next charges were blocked at the last moment.
However, the offensive efforts paid off. In a huge downpour, the aforementioned Onion decided to “dance” in dribbling with his opponents and achieved the desired effect. When he ran between two defenders, one of them made a desperate intervention, after which the attacking midfielder fell in the “sixteen” of Aris. The referee’s verdict was obvious – a penalty kick for Raków. Piasecki approached the ball, confused the goalkeeper and increased it to 2:0.
Unfortunately, at the very end of the match, the team from Limassol managed to score a contact goal after a spectacular strike by Mayambela from outside the penalty area. The South African winger deceived one of Raków’s players at once, and then tried on no defense for Kovacević. It was the last hit of the evening, so the Polish champions will go to Cyprus with one goal advance.