A wasted penalty, a great Stanek and a well-deserved promotion. In Plzeň, Mosquera decided

Qualification for the Champions League continued with the return matches of the third preliminary round, including Viktoria Plzeň’s match against Sheriff Tiraspol. The Westerners took to the pitch at the Doosan Arena with a 2:1 lead over Moldova. And coach Bílek’s charges coped with the situation perfectly. After the 2:1 result in the rematch, the West Bohemians are assured of at least the Europa League group stage.

The opening minutes brought mainly good defensive work of Viktoria, who faced several hints of the opponent. At the end of the first five minutes, Pernambuc’s centre was turned away by Luděk Pernica. For a long time Plzeň could not even get into their own attacking half.

It was only in the ninth minute that Plzeň appeared in a serious attack for the first time and a minute later, after a combination along the axis of Bucha – Kalvach – Chorý – Kliment, the home side took the lead. The goal was worth its weight in gold for the West Bohemians, bringing them closer to promotion. The total score of the double match was 3::1.

The following moments did not bring much interesting. It was not until the 26th minute that the mood in the stadium improved again, at least for a while. Evangelou held Choré in the penalty area and, just like a week ago, a penalty was awarded. But unlike the first match, the fouled Viktoria striker missed the goal. This left Plzeň with only a 1:0 lead.

The Plzeň players played in a disciplined manner and did not allow Sheriff to have any chances. It was not until the 37th minute that Mudasiru fired from long range, but his shot only greeted the fans in the upper ranks. The Moldovan team looked desperate at times.

Until the end of the half, the visiting team had more time on the ball, but did not create any dangerous chances. After 45 minutes, the score was 1:0. Plzeň were one half time away from progression.

Right at the beginning of the second half, after Plzeň’s first action, Šeriff got into the attack and after Havel played his hand on the edge of the penalty area on the right side, the next penalty of the match was ordered. Unlike Chorý, Rasheed Akanbi converted with ease to level the match at 1-1.

Already in the 49th minute a quick response could have come, Kopic was stopped first by defender Kiki and then by goalkeeper Abalora. Sixty seconds later, Stanek was on the other side, disposing of a shot by Mudasir. He made a second key save right after that. Ouattara’s header from a small area could have sent Sheriff into the lead.

Tiraspol were significantly outplaying the home side, who made mistakes in their passing and at times their play looked chaotic. That is why Libor Holík, a defender, came on the field to replace striker Jan Kliment and changed Plzen’s formation. After an hour of play, the score was 1:1, and 3:2 for Plzeň.

But it didn’t last long. In the 61st minute, Viktoria played a corner kick from the left side and Jhon Mosquera cleared Kalvach’s centre into the net. Coach Bílek’s charges again had a two-goal lead in both games.

Another big chance came with about seventeen minutes to go, with Stanek having to be helped by one of his teammates with his second shot. Tiraspol was running out of time to possibly tie the doubleheader and force overtime.

Stefanos Evangelou put the final nail in Moldova’s coffin when he tripped the escaping Sykora with five minutes left. He was given a second yellow and Plzeň were within touching distance against ten men. And with it the certainty of 250 million crowns for moving up in the competition.

By the end of the match nothing significant happened and so boundless joy could break out. In a week’s time, Plzen will play the fourth preliminary round of the Champions League and if they maintain their 100% success rate in the European Cups, we could look forward to seeing them in the millionaire competition.

Source: UEFA