Defeat in Portugal: Vitória Arrives in Mostar with a Three-Goal Advantage

The first leg of the UEFA Conference League play-off, held today in Guimarães, ended in a convincing victory for the home side Vitória.

The Portuguese team won 3:0, giving them a significant advantage going into the return leg in Mostar next Thursday.

Our team faced their most challenging moments in the opening minutes of the second half, when Vitória scored twice through Ricardo Mangas and Toni Borevković. The final blow came when João Saraiva capitalized on a lapse in our defense to score the third goal, making the home team’s victory even more emphatic.

In the first half, Mario Ivanković’s team played with concentration, determination, and security, particularly in defense. We struggled to threaten Vitória’s back line, and although the hosts controlled possession and had the initiative, there were very few real chances in front of Marko Marić’s goal.

However, just after the start of the second half, Vitória took the lead. Tiago Silva, unchallenged, received the ball at the edge of the penalty area and played a perfect pass to Ricardo Mangas, who easily beat the helpless Marić.

Only five minutes later, the net of Zrinjski shook again, this time with Croatian defender Toni Borevković heading in a corner from Tiago Silva—who also assisted on the first goal.

Our team only began to seriously threaten and create danger in the final third of the pitch after that, but we were unable to score.

To make matters worse, Vitória added a third goal in the 88th minute. Petar Mamić failed to prevent a cross from the right side, and João Saraiva took advantage of Hrvoje Barišić’s poor reaction to score the final goal.

46′ |  1:0 – Mangas

51′ |  2:0 – Borevković

88′ |  3:0 – Saraiva

Vitória SC: Varela, Alberto (75. Miguel), Fernandes, Borevković, Mendes, Silva, Handel, Santos (69. Saravia), Cesar (60. Arcanjo),  Mangas (69. Samo), Oliveira (69. Ramirez)

HŠK Zrinjski: Marić; Tičinović (74. Mamić), Šunjić, Barišić, Memija, Savić (46. Mlinar), Posavec (38. Kiš), Ivančić, Malekinušić (90. Prskalo), Ćuže, Mulahusejnović (90. Topić)