FK Haugesund - Lech Poznań 3:2

The match was played at a high tempo since the opening minutes. The hosts were the ones to attack first, which undoubtedly surprised Lech. In the 5^th minute Putnocky was forced to intervene when Hajradanovic fired a strong shot at the goal. Moments later the guests replied with a scoring chance of their own. Gjos received a pass just outside the box, but his attempt flew a couple of centimetres above the crossbar. 5 minutes later Lech attacked again. Kostevych’s cross was inaccurate, but Jevtic recovered the ball, passed to Makuszewski and the latter instead of shooting decided to give the ball to one of his teammates. It didn’t surprise the Norwegian defenders and they stopped the attempt without difficulties.

Neither of the teams slowed down. Both sides were determined to score a goal fast. Just when the fans thought Lech would be the first one to do so, the hosts started dominating the match. In the 13^th minute Putnocky stopped the ball from falling into the back of the net following a dangerous shot from Haraldseid. 7 minutes later Adbi’s header was just slightly off target. Not long after Lech conceded the first goal. Abdi was left unmarked in the box, he received a pass from Stolas and fired a shot that hit the crossbar and fell into the back of the net.

The hosts kept on looking to score again. In the 26th minute they came close to changing the score, but Hajradinovic’s free kick hit the crossbar and left the pitch. It took Lech a long time to regain confidence and effectiveness. In the closing minutes of the first half, Lech built a good scoring chance. Kostevych crossed the ball into the box where Gajos was waiting, but the midfielder didn’t expect the pass to reach him and he lost the ball before he could fire a shot.

Lech had nothing to lose and as soon as the referee blew the first whistle of the second half, the guests attacked their opponent’s goal. Majewski attempt was imprecise, while Nielsen’s shot from 2m was off target. In the 54^th minute it should have been 1:1 when Gytkjaer received a well-timed, precise pass from Majewski, but his shot was too weak to cause problems to the goalkeeper.

The following minutes were completely dominated by Lech. The hosts concentrated on guarding their goal. They couldn’t concede one if they wanted to have an advantage in the second leg. In the 64^th minute Lech was awarded a corner kick. Jevtic crossed the ball into the box and, to everyone’s surprise, it hit the crossbar. 5 minutes later Majewski tried scoring, but his attempt was saved by the keeper. A moment afterwards the hosts scored the second. Hajradinovic was the one who finished off an impressive counterattack with a strong, precise shot into the back of the net.

3 minutes later the score changed to 3:0. Kiss sent a long ball from the midfield and Ibrahim beat Putnocky one-on-one. Lech responded immediately with a goal of their own. Majewski placed the ball in the net and the whole team returned to intensified attacks. In the 86^th minute Barkroth came close to scoring, but it wasn’t until the injury time that Lech changed the score once again. Radut was fouled in the box and Majewski converted the penalty kick into a second goal. The second leg, planned for June 13^th, will determine which team will advance further in the Europa League qualifications.

FK HAUGESUND - LECH POZNAŃ 3:2 (1:0)

Goals: Abdi (24), Hajradinović (71), Ibrahim (74) – Majewski (75), Majewski (90+3)

Yellow cards: Hajradinović, Kiss, Stølås - Gumny, Majewski, Tetteh

FK: Per Bråtveit - Kristoffer Haraldseid, Frederik Pallesen Knudsen, Vegard Skjerve, Alexander Stølås - Sondre Tronstad, Filip Kiss, Bruno Leite, Liban Abdi (72. Tor Arne Andreassen) - Harid Hajradinović (79. Frederik Gytkjaer) - Shuaibu Ibrahim (82. Erik Huseklepp)

Lech: Matus Putnocky - Robert Gumny, Łukasz Trałka, Lasse Nielsen, Volodymyr Kostevych - Maciej Gajos (84. Mihai Radut), Abdul Aziz Tetteh, Radosław Majewski - Maciej Makuszewski (79. Nicklas Barkroth), Christiaj Gytkjaer (79. Deniss Rakels), Darko Jevtić.