Rain is not lucky. Kolos lost to Rijeka in extra time

Kolos’ campaign in the European Cup continued in Croatia. There, sadly, it ended. “Rijeka”, frankly, did not seem an insurmountable rival for the Kovalevites. But the “whites” were more dangerous rivals than the “Aris” themselves. At least at the expense of experience, because the Croats in their history became participants in the Europa League group round three times, and from Rijeka, Feyenoord and Milan they left with nothing. Furthermore, the Croatian club approached the confrontation with Kolos with a streak of four wins at home, during which he invariably scored at least two goals. On the other hand, the staffing problems of Simon Rozhman’s team were evident, combined with the good physical and psychological condition of the Kovalevsky team players. So there was reason to believe in a positive outcome for Kolos.

The start of the fight stayed with the local team. “Blanco” had a territorial advantage, trying to find approaches to the “Kolos” penalty area. And the Kovalevites, like a week ago in Thessaloniki, settled for the first time in a new stadium for them. But, unlike the match with Aris, the accentuated counterattacks did not leave the ears. The Croats didn’t create dangerous moments, but they kept Kovalev’s defense in constant tension, especially during set pieces. After one of them, Murich spun the ball towards the goal from a corner and Volynets rescued his team.

And closer to the equator of the first half, the guests put their combinatorial game in order and began to get closer and closer to the opponents’ penalty area. Time and again, Bogdanov tried to aggravate the situation, throwing aerial gears at Rijeka’s property. Before the break, Novak was close to success, who, after a teammate discount from the goalkeeper’s line, shot over the goal.

Ruslan Kostyshin’s charges began confidently in the second half of the meeting. It is true that he did not reach acute situations at the doors of the Croatian club. But the “whites” periodically created scoring opportunities. Thus, Pavicic finished off his individual pass with a blow to the hands of Volynets, and Loncar hit a little over the crossbar. Kulenovich was about to open the scoring in the game, which after a cross from a corner failed to hit the goal.

The key moment of the confrontation was … a heavy downpour. The drainage system of the Ruevica stadium could not cope with such a flow of water, and the turf almost immediately became unusable. It became very difficult to move the ball along it: a round projectile got stuck in the water. Unfortunately, the Rijeka players have adapted better to this type of “water soccer”. But Kolos had an excellent opportunity to snatch the victory from him in regulation time. After the lumbago, Antyukha Seleznyov could not hit the ball from the lethal position, and only then, reaching for the ball, threw the “sphere” over the gate.

In extra time, the game was decided by the standards. During one of them, there was a perfect rebound for Escoval, who shot at the goalkeeper’s gate. After such an action, the Kovalevites seemed doomed. Guests could barely move across the swampy grass, not to mention getting the ball into the opponents’ penalty area. The point of the duel was scored in the 115th minute. Volynets could not hold the wet ball, dropping it onto Kulenovich’s leg. After Sandro’s kick, the ball did not reach the goal, but Adriyanovich helped him to be in the net.

Kolos suffered an offensive defeat and left the Europa League. And “Rijeka” will fight “Copenhagen” to reach the group stage of the European Cup.

European League. 3rd qualifying round.

Rijeka – Kolos – 2: 0

João Escoval (102), Franco Adriyashevich (115)

Momchilo Raspopovich (104), Daniel Steful (106), Ivan Lepinitsa (121) – Nikita Kravchenko (3), Evgeniy Zadoya (37), Andrey Bogdanov (105 + 2)

“Rijeka”: Ivan Nevistič, Hrvoe Smolčič, Darko Velkovski (Joau Éskoval, 91), Luka Capan, Daniél Šteful, Domagoj Pavičič (Sandro Kulenovič, 71), Adam Gnezda-Čerin (Ivan Lepinica, 99), Ivanč, Tomepovi 90 + 1), Loncar, Franko Adriashevich, Robert Murich

“Ear”: Evgeny Volynets, Vladislav Emets, Evgeny Novak, Kirill Petrov (Pavel Orekhovsky, 109), Vitaly Gavrish, Nikita Kravchenko, Denis Antyukh (Evgeny Morozko, 90 + 5), Evgeny Zadoya, Andrey Bogdanov, Evgeny Smirny (Denis Kostysh, 84) Vladimir Lysenko (Evgeny Seleznev, 71 years old)

Referee: Tiago Martins (Portugal)

Ruevica Stadium (Rijeka, Croatia)

RIEKA – KOLOS. SPREAD OF MATCH TEXT