aab advance with risgård double published: thursday 28 august 2008, 0.10cet fbk kaunas 0-2 aalborg bk (agg: 0-4) kasper risgård struck twice late on against nine-man kaunas to earn aab a second group stage campaign.
by kestutis gimbutas from kaunas
two second-half goals from kasper risgård ensured aalborg bk became the first danish side to earn a second uefa champions league group stage campaign, defeating nine-man fbk kaunas.
aab feat aab had scored twice in the last 19 minutes of the first leg to take a precious lead to lithuania, and were determined not to meet the same fate rangers fc had suffered in their second qualifying round tie in kaunas. the home team's hopes were hit when mindaugas grigalevičius was dismissed on the half-hour and linas pilibaitis followed him after the break before risgård struck twice in the last quarter-hour as aab matched their run of 1995/96.
grigalevičius dismissed from the start the visitors were dominant in midfield and risgård went close on 11 and 16 minutes. kaunas, without leading forward rafael rodrigues ledesma because of a leg injury, struggled to create chances and the size of their task increased when another striker, grigalevičius, was sent off for unsportsmanlike conduct. the pattern continued after half-time as aab kept possession, although it took until the 57th minute for them to threaten the kaunas goal again when thomas enevoldsen's shot from 18 metres forced goalkeeper esteban javier dreer into a save on his first start of the season following marián kello's departure for heart of midlothian fc.
victory secure pilibaitis followed grigalevičius off the pitch with 22 minutes remaining for a bad tackle and risgård soon took advantage, striking on the rebound after his initial header was blocked by dreer. the same player put the result beyond doubt in added time with a precise shot, and while aab can look forward to thursday's group stage draw, kaunas have the consolation of making their debut in the uefa cup first round after what is already their best european run.
