By Yegor Glebov
The match was held without spectators, following a UEFA decision punishing the Turkish team for its fans’ previous misbehaviour. While this could have been to the foreign squad’s disadvantage, the match saw a largely equal struggle.
In the 20th minute, BATE half-back Dmitry Baga was sent off for receiving two yellow cards, giving Fenerbahзe the numerical advantage. During the 45th minute, Andrey Gorbunov was given a penalty, with Moussa Sow awarded a kick from 11m by the referee, which was turned into a goal by half-back Cristian Baroni.
The Borisov players fought hard in the early second half, resulting in Filip Rudik’s shot at goal; sadly, this sailed over the net. Turkey then seized the initiative again and almost scored several times. Baroni’s shot from the centre of the penalty area came closest, but hit the bar.
Coach Victor Goncharenko sent most of the team into attack, leaving just two in defence, without results. BATE has now been knocked out of the Europa League, while Fenerbahзe will face Czech Viktoria in the next round.
At the after-match press conference, Mr. Goncharenko noted, “In Grodno, the Turks took an early penalty and we were given the same in Istanbul. This match was decided on a penalty kick, without any fans in attendance. It was such a strange situation that it’s hard to know how to give an objective analysis. It’s true that we made too many inaccurate passes, which made a mockery of our attacks. I really can’t explain it.”
