Stripes eliminated by strong Krasnodar
by Ayrton Galea - 4th August 2016
Birkirkara FC's European journey came to an end this evening following a 3-1 defeat to FC Krasnodar. Despite the elimination, the Stripes will remember this campaign as the first Maltese team to qualify for the third qualifying round in a European competition.
The historic victory over Hearts put the Stripes in a difficult clash with Krasnodar who over the two-legs proved to be too powerful for the Stripes. However, for the Stripes will be unforgettable European campaign for writing a new page in Maltese football.
Krasnodar dictated matters for long stretches and they opened a very comfortable three-goal in the first-half and the Stripes pulled one back on the hour mark by substitute Jovic. Just before the full-time whistle, Krasnodar failed to convert as controversial penalty as Wanderson's effort ended over.
Coach Drazen Besek's preparations suffered a late set-back as Matthew Guillaumier went through a muscle injury on the eve of the game while Ryan Scicluna was suspended. The Croatian Coach handed the first start since his return to Mislav Andelkovic while Edward Herrera replaced Dejan Djodjevic in the other change.
The Stripes started in a 4-4-2 formation. There were no changes at the back as all four retained their place. Bajada and Herrera patrolled the wings as Andelkovic and Sciberras started in midfield. Dimitrov was given an advanced role as he combined the forward-line with Plut.
The First Half
Birkirkara went close on taking the lead after three minutes. A powerful overlap by Cain Attard unsettled the defence as he sped forward before serving Srdjan Dimitrov, who had his dangerous cross to the path Plut, cleared into a corner kick.
The Stripes opened well but Krasnodar took the lead on the fifteenth minute at the expenses of a very soft goal. Kopric served Marcelina who under pressure tried to clear the ball from the Birkirkara box into safety but his effort hit Ebou Kouassi and the ball ended in the net.
Birkirkara tried to react and created a good scoring opportunity on the twentieth minute. Srdjan Dimitrov showed good vision as he lobbed the ball over the defence to Plut who controlled well but his shot was weak and ended wide.
Krasnodar made them two on the thirty-sixth minute. A nuetralised corner kick for the Stripes began the quick transition with the ball fast arriving to Joaozinho who in an ideal position hit past goalkeeper Kopric.
Two became three just two minutes later as Krasnodar took total control. An excellent through-ball penetrated the defence and Ricardo Laborde sprinted past the Birkirkara defence before lobbing the ball over Kopric.
Just before half-time, substitute Ariclenes almost added the fourth goal but Christian Bubalovic made an excellent recovery to clear the ball from the goal-line as the half-time saw Krasnodar comfortably leading with three goals.
The Second Half
At the start of the second half, Drazen Besek affected two substitutions. Defender Predrag Jovic replaced Shaun Bajada while Frank Temile replaced Emerson Marcelina. Jovic was included in defence along-side Bubalovic while Temile was included on the left wing.
Birkirkara went close on pulling one goal back near the hour mark. Andelkovic showed great technique to deliver an accurate cross on the left side to Temile who avoided his marker and his curling shot ended wide by inches.
The Stripes were renewed for their efforts as they pulled one-goal back on the hour mark. An inch-perfect corner kick by Dimitrov saw Jovic rising high to hit a powerful header past goalkeeper Sinitsin. Needless to say, this was the first ever goal for a Maltese side in the third qualifying round in a European competition.
Krasnodar pushed forward for more goals. On the sixty-ninth minute, a shot from inside the box by Ariclenes, after stealing the ball from Zerafa, was deflected into a corner was just moments later, Joaozinho had a fierce shot from the edge of the box ended over.
With less than fifteen minutes to go, Drazen Besek included centre-forward Dejan Djordjevic instead of Srdjan Dimitrov, who once again enjoyed a very good performance. Djordjevic was included at the centre of attack as Plut moved to the right flank for a 4-3-3 formation.
The Stripes were putting more men on the offensive side which left Krasnodar spaces at the back and they almost made them four six minutes from time when Joaozinho struck a wonderful shot hitting the foot of post.
Krasnodar had a golden opportunity to make them four on the ninetieth minute when they were awarded a controversial penalty. However from the eleven-metre spot, Wanderson saw his shot hitting the crossbar and ending over as the score remained unchanged.
BIRKIRKARA: Miroslav Kopric, Cain Attard, Christian Bubalovic, Emerson Marcelina (46' Frank Temile), Joseph Zerafa, Mislav Andelkovic, Gareth Sciberras, Shaun Bajada (46' Predrag Jovic), Srdjan Dimitrov (77' Dejan Djordjevic), Edward Herrera, Vito Plut.
KRASNODAR: Andrey Sinitsyn, Stefan Strandberg, Alexandr Martynovich, Dmitry Torbinsky (78' Mauricio Pereyra), Francisco Wanderson Do Carmo Carneiro, Vladimir Bystrov, Ricardo Alexis Laborde (40' Ariclenes da Silva Ferreira) Leon, Joao Natailton Ramos Dos Santos, Jules Christ Kouassi Ebou, Kabore Charles (68' Yuri Gazinski), Sergey Petrov.
Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (AZE)
Assistant Referees: Zeynal Zeynalov (AZE), Rza Mammadov (AZE)
Fourth Official: Rauf Jabarov (AZE).
Yellow Cards: 44' Srdjan Dimitrov, 58' Gareth Sciberras, 90' Christian Bubalovic (Birkirkara), 57' Kouassi Eboue.
Scorers: 15' Kouassi Eboue, 36' Joaozinho, 38' Rocardo Laborde (Krasnodar), 60' Predrag Jovic (Birkirkara).
Attendance: 7256.
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