Unstoppable Red Star clinch narrow victory to progress into the final
Red Star Belgrade are giants in their own country, but in Europe, no-one gave them the slightest chance, even of progressing past the early qualifying rounds. A good run attracted some attention, but still, their chances looked bleak. Despite all the odds being against them, the
Serbian side battled through countless tough draws and lots of late winners, to make it through to the final of the
Europa League 2014, after they triumphed over
Real Sociedad in an extremely exciting tie, which they won on the away goals rule. An incredible achievement as it is, and one that will be remembered, by not only their fans, but followers of the tournament as a whole, they will be turning their attention towards the final, where they will face
German giants
Schalke who beat
Dynamo Kiev in the other semi-final, as they will play one last match to cap off an astonishing campaign.
The first leg of their semi-final was held in
Spain, as the favourites looked to finish the tie off before the return trip to
Belgrade. Their start exemplified this, as, after some good early pushing, striker
Agirretxe found himself in a great position on the edge of the box, and he hit a thumping effort past
Bajkovic to give his side the lead, much to the disappointment of Red Star, who though the goal was offside. As the 27 year old carted off in celebration, the Serbian side knew they would now be facing a steep uphill challenge. The
Spanish side looked to remain comfortable, solid defensively, while continuing to trouble their opposition on the attack. Winger
Griezmann looked especially dangerous, coming in off his flank, and soon began running rings around young full back
Petkovic. Red Star went into the half time break relieved that they were only behind by 1. In the 2nd half however, they looked like a totally new team, and they quickly managed to level the game up, as
Milunovic switched the ball into the path of
Onyilo, who calmly finished to get his side a crucial away goal. Sociedad replied well to this setback, pushing forward quickly, and Red Star had to be alert not to concede on several occasions. It was a defensively mix-up however which eventually led to the Spanish side’s 2nd, as a ball in from Agirretxe was not dealt by anyone and somehow found its way into the back of the net, in the 67th minute. Just three minutes later, the score was 3-1, as
Kovacevic’s challenge on
Javi Ros was deemed a foul, and a penalty was given. Agirretxe scored to complete his hat trick, while Red Star furiously complained against the decision, with replays showing Ros dived. Despite feeling very hard done by, they did not let this get to them, and held their ground, looking to at least give themselves a small chance in the 2nd leg. They did not expect however, when, in the 91st minute, a
Savicevic clearance found Onyilo who took it in his stride, smashing a powerful volley into the goal, with virtually the last kick of the game. The first leg ended 3-2 to Sociedad, but Red Star still had it all to play for in the second leg.
When the sides met again in Belgrade, Red Star were without striker Onyilo, who was injured. The omens did not look for the home side, and the match started similarly to the first leg, with an early chance converted by
Prieto who connected with a great diving header to put his side in the driving seat, as now Red Star would have to score two. With immense support from their fans, getting the first of these goals was not to be a problem, as
Pecnik hit a deep cross into the box and
Filip Kasalica finished off the move with a goal, to put his side right back in for contention. Even without Onyilo, the Serbian’s looked very capable in attack, testing
Bravo on several occasions. The most notable of these came in the 27th minute, when Kasalica picked the ball up on the wing, cut inside and beat two defenders, before striking a sweet shot, which was only denied by the fingertips of the diving goalkeeper. It was a moment in the 37th minute however, which would turn out to be the most important moment of this tie, after
Ninkovic, from 30 yards, hit a curling long shot, which clipped the inside of the woodwork, and went in, sending the home supporters into delirium. Sociedad complained for a foul earlier in the play, but it was to no avail, as the goal stood, and Red Star brought the tie to 4-4 on aggregate, with them progressing on away goals. As the second half started, Sociedad knew they had to score, and so they immediately threw all their men forward. Prieto continued to be their main attacking threat, with his creativity the heartbeat of the Spanish side. He managed to create their best chance, playing a clever through ball into Agirretxe, who was unable to beat Bajkovic with his tame effort. As the match went into its closing stages, the game turned up several paces, with some of the season defining moments for both clubs. First, in the 85th minute, Ninkovic led a quick break for his team, and picked out Kasalica, who squeezed a shot past Bravo and into the back of the net, but the goal was unrightfully disallowed. This made Red Star furious, as they saw that as the moment which would have sent them through. Instead, in added time, a
Griezmann corner found Agirretxe on the edge of the box, and he shot a ferocious shot on target. With every Red Star fan holding their breath, goalkeeper Bajkovic dived up towards his right, and with the very tip of his fingers, pushed the ball past the post. The corner came to nothing, and as the final whistle blew, Red Star fans, players, and critics alike, all knew they had witnessed something special, as the Serbian side moved into the final.
38 min – GOAL!!!! Totally against the run of play, Mijailovic clears to ball onto the right hand side, and Savicevic gets to it quickly, holds up the play while his team mates advance, before playing a great, high ball over the defence, into the path of Milunovic, who sped past the defence and hit a powerful effort into the back of the net. What a way, and what a time to score your first goal of the season.
MISS! Boateng never looked confident, and his penalty was pushed away easily by the keeper. 2-1
