THURSDAY 29TH & FRIDAY 30TH AUGUST

QUALIFYING PLAY-OFF – SECOND LEG

FEYENOORD 1-2 KUBAN KRASNODAR

Kuban win 3-1 on agg.

Ronald Koeman’s season is going from bad to worse after Feyenoord crashed out of the Europa League at the qualifying stage at the hands of Russian Premier League side Kuban Krasnodar.

Feyenoord were awarded an early penalty after just two minutes of play, when Samuel Armenteros, a recent signing from Anderlecht, was tripped over in the box. However, the usually profilic Graziano Pelle saw his spot kick saved by goalkeeper Aleksandr Belenov.

In a high-octane opening of the match, the hosts saw themselves ahead on seven minutes with Pelle, this time, finishing his chance. After being played through by midfielder Lex Immers, the Italian finished the move well for Feyenoord to draw level on aggregate.

Feyenoord’s lead was not for long, as Krasnodar equalised on 18 minutes. Another defence splitting ball saw Gheorghe Bucur sped past Daryl Janmaat, and stopping the ball on the byline, crossing for Ivelin Popov to finish with ease.

The sides went in level at half-time and just five minutes after the interval, the Russians shocked Koeman’s side with a second goal. The creator turned goalscorer as Bacur finished with a excellent volley from outside the penalty area.

The Dutch side pushed looking for a way back into the tie but failed to trouble the organised Krasnodar defence, as they saw out the win.

Feyenoord are now the third Eredivisie team to be eliminated before the group stages, not a good stat for the Dutch UEFA coefficient for future tournaments.

AZ ALKMAAR 0-2 ATROMITOS

3-3 on agg. – AZ Alkmaar win on away goals rule

In a Europa League first, this tie was played over two different days as AZ Alkmaar advanced to the group stages. The Dutch side went through despite the 2-0 home defeat to Greek side Atromitos, they progress on away goals after the 3-1 victory in the first leg.

Inside the first minute, AZ Alkmaar found themselves down to ten men, when Marcus Henriksen was sent for a early bath for a challenge on Javier Umbides. The red card was very harsh as replays showed that there was minimal contact between the players.

The Greeks had a glorious chance to take the lead when they were awarded a penalty on 18 minutes. AZ goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado, who gave away the spot-kick, redeemed himself to save the penalty from Dimitris Papadopoulos.

The Greek striker also redeemed himself by opening the scoring on 53 minutes. Just six minutes later the match was halted for safety reasons due to an electrical fire linked to the floodlighting system at the AZ Stadion.

When the game was stopped, AZ trailed 1-0 on the night but led 3-2 on aggregate. Under UEFA’s competition regulations, the match resumed on Friday morning from the point of abandonment. Thanassis Karagounis struck a second goal for the Greek visitors on 75 minutes, but despite Stefano Napoleoni hitting the woodwork late on, AZ held on to progress on away goals.

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THURSDAY 22ND AUGUST

QUALIFYING PLAY-OFF – FIRST LEG

KUBAN KRASNODAR 1-0 FEYENOORD

Ronald Koeman’s Feyenoord suffered their fourth successive defeat this season at the hands of Russian Premier League side Kuban Krasnodar. Senegalese striker Ibrahima Baldé got the only goal of the game on the hour mark.

If it were not for goalkeeper Erwin Mulder, Koeman’s side could have been returning to Rotterdam virtually out of the competition. The Russians left with just the 1-0 win but it was well-deserved after yet another lacklustre display from Feyenoord.

Goalscorer Baldé was lively throughout the game and had glorious chance to give the Russians the lead after just three minutes, but the Senegalese striker fired narrowly wide from just inside the area, much to Mulder’s relief.

Feyenoord failed to find the net and even the usually consistent Italian hitman Graziano Pellè had yet another off-night wasting his side’s best chance of the game. Pellè flicked a shot onto the post and midfielder Lex Immers over hit the rebound and blasted it over Aleksandr Belenov‘s crossbar.

Into the second period, the Russians looked much more likely to score and continued to press for the opening goal but this did not materialised until the 60th minute. Baldé was in the right place at the right time to fire home. A long ball by Ángel Dealbert was knocked down by Ivelin Popov into the striker’s path to force the ball past Mulder.

De Kuip hosts the return leg next Thursday, with Ronald Koeman knowing that his team still with a good chance to reach the group stages. However, he will also understand that their performance needs to improve quickly otherwise the season looks to be a write-off, even at this early stage.

ATROMITOS 1-3 AZ ALKMAAR

AZ Alkmaar look likely to advance to the group stage of the competition after an excellent 3-1 in Greece against Atromitos.

After a uneventful goalless first-half, Jóhann Gudmundsson helped himself to a brace with Aron Jóhannsson scoring in the middle of the goals to give the Dutch side the win.

Gudmundsson opened the scoring on 50 minutes, with the newly American striker Jóhannsson grabbing the second on 73 minutes. AZ looked comfortable even though the Greeks scored a 76th minute spot-kick from 31-year-old striker Dimitris Papadopoulos. However, Gudmundsson added a third in stoppage time to give AZ the two-goal cushion to return home tomorrow morning.

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