“Robert-Jan Vanwesemael and Jean-Kévin Duverne were both booked in quick succession — Vanwesemael for holding in the 50th minute, Duverne for a foul just one minute later — raising the temperature in the opening exchanges of the second half and signalling a more combative phase of the match.”
“Ewandro Costa was shown a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct with five minutes remaining, adding further tension to a match still deadlocked at 0-0 and increasing the stakes as both sides pushed for what would prove a crucial first-leg goal.”
“With the clock running out on what looked set to be a frustrating goalless draw, Shogo Taniguchi found the net in the 90th minute to hand Sint-Truiden a hard-earned 1-0 first-leg lead — a goal that arrived after a prolonged spell of Sint-Truiden dominance that had repeatedly failed to produce a breakthrough.”
Pivotal
Sint-Truiden
Omonia Nicosia
Outstanding performance
Sint-Truiden•DefenderSint-Truiden dominated large portions of this Europa League first-leg qualifier at home, finishing with 57% possession, 16 shots to Omonia's eight, and a remarkable 56 dangerous attacks compared to the Cypriot side's 27, yet it took until the 90th minute for the Belgian hosts to finally break through. Shogo Taniguchi's late strike was both a relief and a reward for a Sint-Truiden side that had pressed relentlessly without the clinical edge to match their territorial control — two shots on target across 90 minutes tells its own story about a wasteful evening in front of goal. Omonia Nicosia, for their part, showed the defensive discipline typical of sides arriving at a European qualifier away from home, sitting compact and keeping the scoreline level well into injury time before Taniguchi's breakthrough. The result leaves Sint-Truiden in a strong but not decisive position heading into the second leg — a one-goal advantage is a platform, not a guarantee, and Omonia will take confidence from the fact they created two big chances of their own on a night when Sint-Truiden's finishing was far from convincing.
How entertaining was this match?
Goal! The score is now 1-0.
Angelos Neofytou is substituted off for Ewandro Felipe de Lima Costa.
Corner awarded.
Yellow card issued to Ewandro Felipe de Lima Costa.
Offside.
Corner awarded.
Andronikos Kakoullis is on, and Lois Diony is off.
Loic Nego comes on for Muamer Tankovic.
Corner awarded.
Anastasios Chatzigiovannis comes on for Jaden Montnor.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Ryotaro Araki is substituted for Nelson Ishiwatari.
Substitution: Arbnor Muja comes on for Kaito Matsuzawa.
Corner awarded.
Jean-Kévin DuverneYellow CardYellow card shown to Jean-Kevin Duverne.
Robert-Jan VanwesemaelYellow CardYellow card shown to Robert-Jan Vanwesemael.
Samed Bazdar is on, and Frederic Soelle is off.
The first half ends with a score of 0-0.
Offside.
Kick-off! The referee is Georgi Kabakov.
