AEK Athens 0-1 AS Saint-Étienne: direction play-off round!
Saint-Étienne ran out winners in Athens (1-0) thanks to a goal scored by Robert Beric, and have overcome the hurdle of AEK in the third qualifying round for the UEFA Europa League. On 18 and 25 August, they will play for their place in the group stage.
As the second official competitive match of the season and second European game for Les Verts this summer, far from Saint-Étienne, Les Verts were welcomed to Athens, and its Olympic stadium and fervent atmosphere. In the stifling heat of the Greek capital, Christophe Galtier's men pulled out all the stops, and qualified for the knock-out stage of the UEFA Europa League. They have booked two more European games for the evenings of 18 and 25 August. And, up for grabs is a place in the group stage for the third consecutive season.
Roared on by 130 Saint-Étienne fans, Les Verts made a solid start, trying to put quick pressure on the opponent's defence. They managed three crosses into the box in the first 120 seconds of the match (1st and 2nd minutes). After some concern following the first Greek attack and a header by Mentalos (6th minute), and then a shot by Bakasetas which was just wide (15th minute), Saint-Etienne struck first blood. After a shot was blocked from Pierre-Yves Polomat, Romain Hamouma hit a first time cross for Robert Beric to head home (AEK 0-1 AS Saint-Etienne, 22nd minute).
Christophe Galtier's tactics had paid off after focussing on exploiting the slow centre defence pairing of AEK Athens from the first leg. AEK then reacted with some attacking threat, and were dangerous. Vargas hit a volley on the turn against Fabien Lemoine, forcing Stéphane Ruffier into a touch save (34th minute), before Barbosa, one on one with the Saint-Etienne keeper, missed a sitter after a cross from the right by Galo (37th minute). Les Verts kept their attacking threat and Oussama Tannane saw his central free kick strike the cross bar just before the break (43rd minute).
The only bad news from the evening was the injury to Bryan Dabo, who was replaced by Vincent Pajot (30th minute). "I felt something twist" said the Saint-Etienne number 7 when going back to the changing room. Fabien Lemoine also had to leave the pitch with a knock (79th minute), but Les Verts didn't let it get to them, and Loïc Perrin was marvellous in dealing with every ball in the box (70th, 73th, 89th, 90th+5). AEK made three changes after the mid-way point of the second half, and Les Verts were intelligent in protecting their lead. Robert Beric attempted a half-volley from a ball by Nolan Roux (87th minute). The Saint-Etienne number 9 saw his effort just go over (90th+3). Saint-Etienne's willingness and desire took them through and are now in with a real chance for Europe.
UEFA Europa League
3rd qualification round – Second leg
At the Athens Olympic Stadium (Greece)
AEK Athens 0-1 AS Saint-Etienne Half-time : 0-1 Referee : Alon Yefet (ISR) Goal : Beric (22nd minute) for AS Saint-Etienne AEK Athens : Anestis – Didac, Kolovetsios, Chygrynskiy, Galo – Simoes (Almeida, 67th), Lampropoulos – Barbosa (Aravidis, 81st), Mantalos (cap), Vargas (Platellas, 53rd) – Bakassetas. Manager : Temuri Ketsbaia. AS Saint-Etienne : Ruffier – Polomat, Pogba, Perrin (cap), Théophile-Catherine – Dabo (Pajot, 30th), Selnaes, Lemoine (Monnet-Paquet, 79th) – Tannane, Beric, Hamouma (Roux, 84th). Manager : Christophe Galtier.
