July 03, 2012: UEFA Europa League, 1st qualifying round, 1st leg:
Víkingur - FC Gomel 0-6 (0-0) 53' 0-1 Vyacheslav Hleb 55' 0-2 Vyacheslav Hleb 57' 0-3 Igor Voronkov 58' 0-4 Ilya Aleksievich 69' 0-5 Nikolai Kashevski 80' 0-6 Artur Levitski
Víkingur rue missed 1st half penalty as they are beaten 6-0, with all of the goals coming in the second half; 4 of them in the space of 5 minutes!
It was looking quite bright as Víkingur went to half-time with a 0-0 score, and although the visitors had a clear majority of the possession, they weren’t able to create scoring opportunities.
However, it could have looked even brighter if Sølvi Vatnhamar had capitalized the penalty Víkingur were awarded after 10 minutes, but the Gomel goalkeeper Srdjan Ostojić saved the weak shot.
But whatever hope Víkingur had for a good result at the half-time interval was shattered early in the second half as Gomel had taken a 4-0 lead after 58 minutes.
Vyacheslav Hleb (brother of more famous Alexander Hleb) got the scoring underway after 53 minutes from the edge of the penalty area following a corner. Hleb netted again two minutes later on a counterattack after Víkingur carelessly had given they ball away on midfield.
On 57 minutes Igor Voronkov made it 3-0 before Ilya Aleksievich scored Gomel’s 4th goal the minute after.
Whether it’s any excuse or not, it should be mentioned that just before the opening goal, Víkingur’s central defender Erling Jacobsen had been substituted through injury.
Gomel's captain, Nikolai Kashevski, then made it 5-0 with a fine taken header from a cross after 69 minutes before substitute Artur Levitski finished the rout in the 80th minute by making it 6-0.
July 05, 2012: UEFA Europa League, 1st qualifying round, 1st leg:
EB/Streymur - Gandzasar 3-1 (3-0) 09' 1-0 Levi Hanssen (pen) 25' 2-0 Hans Pauli Samuelsen 33' 3-0 Levi Hanssen (pen) 72' 3-1 Gustavo Correia
Terrific result for EB/Streymur who beat Armenian outfit Gandzasar 3-1, but the away goal could prove costly in the away-game.
It was clear from early on that the Armenian side was one of the weaker you can get in a European cup game.
EB/Streymur should have taken then lead after only 6 minutes when striker Arnbjørn Hansen was played completely clear, but Hansen finished straight on the goalkeeper instead of rounding him, which looked like an easier solution.
But the regrets were forgotten within two minutes when the insecure Gandzasar defence gave the ball away when they were pressured high up on the field, and as Hansen got in-between the right-back and the goalkeeper, he was floored by the goalkeeper who was lucky not to get a yellow card. A clear penalty which Levi Hansen safely converted.
EB/Streymur doubled their lead midway through the half when Levi Hansen on the right was brilliantly released, and when he got into the penalty area, he served the ball in front of goal to a clear Hansen who missed when it looked easier to score. Luckily Hans Pauli Samuelsen was behind him to fire the ball into the back of the net between the goalkeeper and the near post with a precise strike from an acute angle.
Hansen also missed when he was clear on another occasion, but on 33 minutes he was again brought down by the goalkeeper for another clear penalty. This time the goalkeeper did get the yellow card, but it should maybe have been his second. Again Levi Hanssen was cool from the spot to make it 3-0 to the home team.
Gandzasar had been very tame throughout the first half, and a couple of half-chances was all they had.
And actually EB/Streymur so nearly made it 4-0 before the half-time whistle, but Levi Hanssen, who was clear in the penalty area, finished straight on the legs of the goalkeeper.
The Armenian team came out much stronger in the second half and managed to put some pressure on the EB/Streymur goal. A couple of free headers could have gone in, but one powerful went just over the target while the other lacked power.
EB/Streymur threatened with corner at the other end and only a super save from the Gandzasar goalkeeper kept out Gert Hansen’s downwards header.
But on 72 minutes the visitors got the important away goal as Correiagustavo dos Santos scored from a corner that had been given away a bit unnecessary, as it could have been prevented with better communication.
Gandzasar went close again in the last 10 minutes, but René Tórgarð in the EB/Streymur goal reacted quickly to prevent a free kick going into the top corner and was happy to see a late header go wide.
A fine result for EB/Streymur, but how costly will the Gandzasar away-goal be as there is a world of difference between 3-0 and 3-1. Should EB/Streymru lose 2-0 in Armenia, they’re out. But of course they won’t...
The 2nd leg will be played on Thursday 12 July at 19.00 local time, which hopefully is late enough so that the heat will not get the better of EB/Streymur.
July 05, 2012: UEFA Europa League, 1st qualifying round, 1st leg:
Differdange 03 - NSÍ Runavík 3-0 (2-0) '31 1-0 Michel Kettenmeyer '41 2-0 Gilles Bettmer '47 3-0 Omar Er Rafik
This season’s edition of NSÍ Runavík, who are currently in the building face for a new team, didn’t quite have the qualities to make a mark in European competition.
NSÍ had chosen a defence approach and managed to keep tight for half an hour when the defender Michel Kettenmeyer opened the scoring.
Differdange doubled their lead shortly before halftime with a goal from Gilles Bettmer, the 23-year old captain of the team.
The hosts further increased their lead just two minutes after the break through forward Omar Er Rafik to more or less settle the tie.
The second leg will be played din Gundadalur, Tórshavn on 12 July.
July 12, 2012: UEFA Europa League, 1st qualifying round, 2nd leg:
FC Gomel - Víkingur 4-0 (0-0) 49' 1-0 Vadim Demidovich 56' 2-0 Vadim Demidovich 71' 3-0 Nikolai Kashevski 88' 4-0 Aleksei Timoshenko
With a 6-0 defeat in the bag from the first leg, it will have been difficult for Víkingur to find any motivation for the 2225 kilometres (1382 miles) long journey to Belarus for the second meeting with FC Gomel.
But Víkingur fought determinedly in the first half and managed to keep Gomel from scoring-opportunities.
Shortly before half time Víkingur had their best chance when Hjartvard Hansen broke through the Gomel defence to sqare the ball to Kaj Leo í Bartalsstovu who failed to beat the goalkeeper, however.
But 10 minutes after the break Vadim Demidovich had scored a brace before the captain, Nikolai Kashevski, made it 3-0 after 71 minutes. Aleksei Timoshenko cemented the victory in the final minutes to make it 4-0. – Two of the Gomel goals had been scored in off the post.
July 12, 2012: UEFA Europa League, 1st qualifying round, 2nd leg:
It was agonisingly close for EB/Streymur who were ousted from the Europa League for the second year running on the away-goals rule after losing 2-0 in Armenia against Gandzasar this afternoon.
EB/Streymur had a 3-1 lead from the first leg, but unfortunately the away goal that Gandzasar scored in the first leg proved to be just as costly as feared.
EB/Streymur were under much pressure for the most of the match but kept Gandzasar at bay for 67 minutes when they scored twice in the space of 5 minutes.
Sargis Nasibyan, who had been on the field for only six minutes, made it 1-0 and Brazilian midfielder Diego Lomba scored the vital second goal to quash EB/Streymur's dream of advancement to the second round.
Forward Arnbjørn Hansen only came on in injury time – because he has been carrying an injury. EB/Streymur have always said that they were not going to jeopardize the league by gambling with players that are not 100% fit.
EB/Streymur also missed both usual central defenders Egil á Bø and Marni Djurhuus through injury in both legs as well as midfielder Pætur Dam Jacobsen. Rumanian Sorin Anghel, who also missed the first leg as he was in Rumania on the day had flown over to Armenia to strengthen the team this time.
It might be unfair to those who did it so well in the first leg, but had some of the more experienced players have been on the pitch that day, maybe they could have prevented that costly goal in Gundadalur…
July 12, 2012: UEFA Europa League, 1st qualifying round, 2nd leg:
Never had there been any hope for NSÍ to reverse the 3-0 deficit from the first leg, but hopes of winning today’s match had not been given up on entirely.
But that hope diminished after 14 minutes when NSÍ carelessly gave away the ball to let Omar Er Rafik take advantage and lob the goalkeeper to put the visitors ahead.
The rest of the match was kind of played with a “lets-get-this-over-with“-attitude, as NSÍ didn’t really have the means to threaten Differdange who again didn’t have to sweat to stay in control.
Rafik, a Moroccan, made it 2-0 for Differdange with his second goal of the day on the stroke of half-time with an acrobatic effort.
NSÍ had a couple of opportunities in the second half, but Árni Fredriksberg squandered his chance when the fell after being one-on-one with the goalkeeper who also made a diving save moments later to deny Monrad Jacobsen – the only real save the goalkeeper had to do.
Shortly after, on 73 minutes, Differdange increased to 3-0 when the Frenchman Geoffrey Franzoni was played clear to lob over 17-year old goalkeeper Pætur Høj who had released an injured Kristian Joensen after 35 minutes.