Linfield beat Sutjeska to reach Europa League play-off
Stafford, Lavery and Clarke score in 3-2 victory to set up tie vs Qarabag
Linfield beat Sutjeska 3-2 agg: 5-3 to become the first ever Irish League side to progress to the play-off stage of the Europa League.
The Blues made a dream start at Windsor, opening the scoring from a corner in the 7th minute. Dead-ball specialist Kirk Millar whipped in a delivery from the left, and it was Mark Stafford who rose highest, unmarked to head Linfield into the lead.
By the 15th minute, the visitors were level, securing a precious away goal. Damir Kojasevic clipped a free kick into the Linfield box, and it was flicked towards goal by Bojan Bozovic, nestling in the corner of the net.
Linfield took only 3 minutes to reclaim their lead through the skill and opportunism of Shayne Lavery. The young striker chased Matthew Clarke's ball over the top, which drew the keeper miles off his line in an awful attempt to clear.
The Sutjeska captain made a total mess of it, getting the ball stuck between his feet. Lavery was able to steal possession before swiveling and shooting, finding the net from almost 30 yards.
The pace, power and direct running of Lavery put visiting centre-back Sofranac under immense pressure, and after just 35 minutes he was shown a second yellow card for persistent fouling.
Sutjeska were trailing, but still posed a threat into the second half. Linfield keeper Rohan Ferguson had to be alert to repel a flicked Nedic header after the defender lost his marker at a 55th minute corner.
He then pulled off an even more impressive save, denying Bozovic from inside the 6-yard-box - but the warnings signs were there. In the 61st minute, Bozovic scored his second goal of the game, flicking in a near-post header which Ferguson was unable to stop on this occasion.
It prompted a nervous period for the Blues, but Matthew Clarke's 75th minute strike put the game to bed. Substitute Joel Cooper tied his marker in knots before sliding an inch-perfect cross into the back post, where left-back Clarke was eagerly awaiting a 2-yard tap-in to make it 3-2 to Linfield.