Defeat in Plovdiv: The Decision on the Play-off Spot Falls in Mostar

The first leg of the third qualifying round for the UEFA Conference League between Botev and Zrinjski ended with a victory for the Bulgarian team, with a score of 2:1, meaning the decision on who advances to the play-off will be made in Mostar in a week.

After a cautious start from both sides, Botev’s Samuel Aker was the first to threaten with a shot from the edge of the penalty area, but Zrinjski’s goalkeeper Marko Marić made a confident save.

On the other end, Zrinjski had their first chance in the 15th minute when Mario Ćuže found himself in a good position, but home goalkeeper Hans Christian Bernat won their duel. Shortly after, Ivan Posavec had a chance but failed to convert after being set up by Nardin Mulahusejnović.

Botev took the lead in the 35th minute with a brilliant, if somewhat fortunate, strike from Aker, who scored from the edge of the penalty area.

At the start of the second half, the hosts nearly added another goal, but Marić made a great save when Croatian forward Martin Sekulić was in front of him.

In the second half, Zrinjski managed to penetrate Botev’s defense more easily, increasing the pressure. Tomislav Kiš, Mulahusejnović, and Ćuže all had chances, and Zrinjski equalized in the 77th minute when Ćuže beautifully struck into the far corner of Bernat’s goal.

Unfortunately, shortly after the restart, Botev scored again. Hrvoje Barišić made a mistake in passing, which Aleksa Maraš capitalized on to make it 2:1, the final score of the match.

Remember, the winner of this tie will advance to the play-off round and face the winner of the tie between Swiss Zurich and Portuguese Vitória, with the Portuguese team looking likely to progress after a convincing 3:0 victory in Switzerland.

35′ |  1:0 – Akere

77′ |  1:1 – Ćuže

79′ |  2:1 – Maraš

PFK Botev Plovdiv: Bernat, Minkov, Tamm, Conte (72. Diabate), Balogiannis, Eto’o, Perera, Nwachukwu (83. Ukaki), Akere (69. Kosorec), Popov (83. Karabelyov), Sekulić (69. Maraš)

HŠK Zrinjski: Marić, Barišić, Ćorluka, Mlinar, Mulahusejnović (86. Rušević), Posavec (46. Kiš), Malekinušić (72. Topić), Ivančić,  Ćuže, Šunjić, Memija (61. Memija)