Athletic Club 2-Trabzonspor 0

The European magical night has given way to the first step in completing a good season: Athletic Club will be in Tuesday’s group draw. The opponent was not insignificant: the leader of the Turkish League, undefeated in away matches during the season and always scoring goals with very quick men on the offence. All was well until their appointment at San Mamés.

It has not been a match to shine in, instead it has been one to get through the first round and for this our team, except for some temporary logical gaps, has been able to set the pace, stop it, revive it and, in addition, to get the goals right with two different producers in European competition: Ezquerro and Yeste. In such an anguishing as well as rewarding task the role of the spectators, this time a full house, has been fundamental. The encouragement has extended during all of 90 minutes, with good interpretation during the moments of weakness and with the courtesy, during and after the match that will serve as an example for future meetings. With that well understood symbiosis, Athletic Club is unbeatable.

For that reason, in that ideal framework, the team has offered the precise and wished for effect: pressure and force with the early goal by Ezquerro leaving aside the uncalled penalty in our favour in the initial minute of play. The goal has done nothing but revive the desire to sentence the first round and soon opportunities by both Ezquerro and Urzaiz arrived. However this has not happened, and the match balanced itself out, at least with regards to the absence of goal options, since the first Turkish occasion has had to wait until the 33 minute of play, when Aranzubia, with his first match at zero this season, has deflected a shot by Karadeniz, although it appeared to go outside by very little. Those have been moments of doubt, dissipated only with an option by Urzaiz and another by Arriaga, who had just entered replacing the injured Ezquerro, who suffered a pulled muscle.

The short margin on the marker did not leave much room for speculation. This is how our team has understood it, and they clung to the pressuring spirit of last Saturday’s match against Real Madrid. Consequently Arriaga has not found a reply to his good centre in the minute 55, there was a penalty committed on Urzaiz in the 60 and Yeste has scored a magnificent goal in the 62; a goal that seemed to sentence the elimination round.

Dougan has almost immediately lined up Thijs and Yilmaz, and their presence was concurrent with the best Turkish options in the whole encounter: Seyhan, Tekke and Yilmaz have enjoyed individual options in the short span of time that ran until the minute 75. At that moment, domination has returned to the red-and-whites and in its turn Orbaiz, Yeste and Urzaiz have not managed to take advantage. Ahead an isolated shot by Karadeniz in the minute 80 and another one in the injury time have been the rival baggage that has not prevented the elimination.

Lastly, we would like to highlight the debut of a new player in the first team, Gorka Azkorra; hoping that this situation lasts a long time. Meanwhile, the Liga returns and it is imperative to end this cycle of competition with a good taste of mouth.

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