Final Playoffs for Champions League Season 2009-10

August 28, 2009

Danish club F.C. Copenhagen was visiting Cyprus to play against APOEL FC with a one goal advantage from the first leg. The home seemed to be in a hurry to nullify the first leg score and Kamil Kosowski scored the first goal in the 2nd minute. In the 18th minute APOEL FC were awarded a penalty, which 32 year old Chrysostomous Michail converted into a goal. The home fans were already singing and dancing as they saw their side qualifying the group stage of the top European competition. But F.C. Copenhagen is a strong and experienced side.

Four minutes later 24 year old Senegalese Dame Ndoye pulled one back for F.C. Copenhagen. The score was again 2-2 on aggregate but according to the away goals rule, F.C. Copenhagen was going to qualify. Home support proved motivating for APOEL FC and home hero Chrysostomous Michail netted his second for the night in the 41st minute. Somehow APOEL FC defended all attempts from F.C. Copenhagen, and pulled through the 90 minutes and in doing so joined the elite group of teams that qualified for the Champions League.

German VfB Stuttgart had no trouble in holding Romanian club FC Timişoara. The score from the first leg being 2-0, a draw was enough for the German club to qualify and that is what Markus Babbel’s side did on Wednesday night.
Portugese club, Sporting Lisbon visited Italian side ACF Fiorentina. Each team had scored two goals in the first leg; ACF Fiorentina’s job was just to make sure that the Portugal club did not score any goal. This was not to be the case as in the 35th minute João Moutinho converted a free kick much to the shock of home fans.

Sporting deserved to lead as they were playing better but football is not a game where a team playing a better game always wins. Substitute Stevan Jovetic scored in the 54th minute, and that was enough to send the home team into the group stage according to the away goals rule.

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