UEFA Champions League: Richmond Boakye and Red Star Belgrade advance despite defeat to Evans Mensah's HJK

Published on: 01 August 2019
UEFA Champions League: Richmond Boakye and Red Star Belgrade advance despite defeat to Evans Mensah's HJK
Richmond Boakye Yiadom

Striker Richmond Boakye-Yiadom progressed to the UEFA Champions third qualifying round with Red Star Belgrade despite losing 2-1 at Finnish side HJK Helsinki.

Red Star Belgrade advanced to the third qualifying round on a 3-2 aggregate win over HJK despite the tepid 2-1 defeat at the Finnish champions which infuriated coach Vladan Milojevic.

The Ghana international, who scored in the first leg 2-0 win, was named in the starting line-up for the Serbian side but replaced after 55 minutes.

For the home team, they fielded another Ghanaian player Evans Mensah who lasted the entire duration.

HJK captain Sebastian Dahlström beat Milan Borjan to give HJK the lead and hope of leveling the aggregate score.

Just ten minutes later Red Star were level as Dušan Jovančić made the most out of a clever Marko Marin pass and finished past Maksim Rudakov to make it 1-1 for the Serbian side.

Riku Riski evaded Filip Stojković and beat Borjan from close range to give the Finnish side an unlikely victory.

But Red Star Belgrade advanced 3-2 on aggregate with betting apps guide among several punters predicting good performance for the Serbians this season.

Their reward will be a clash with Copenhagen, who strolled to a 3-0 overall win over Welsh rivals The New Saints after Greece midfielder Zeca scored the solitary goal in the return leg in the Danish capital.

Sebastian Dahlstrom fired Helsinki ahead on the night with a fine shot in the 46th minute and Evans Mensah missed a gilt-edged chance to level the tie before 1991 European Cup winners Red Star got the vital away goal.

Dusan Jovancic scored with a deflected shot after a defence splitting pass from Marko Marin but more poor defending by the Serbian side allowed Riku Riski to give Helsinki a bittersweet win with a stoppage time effort.

"We are through to the next round and that's all that matters right now," Milojevic told reporters.

"We knew it would be tough despite winning the first leg 2-0 and I really don't understand why we sat back when we should have killed the tie earlier.

"I am not too disappointed but I am also unhappy with the fact that we conceded a pair of sloppy goals tonight."

Copenhagen missed a string of chances to win by a bigger margin either side of a magnificent strike by Zeca, who gave TNS keeper Paul Harrison no chance with a thunderbolt from 25 metres which hit the top corner of the net.

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