published: wednesday 1 december 2010, 20.48cet fc metalist kharkiv 2-1 debreceni vsc
denys oliynyk's 88th-minute strike completed a second-half comeback for the hosts and confirmed their qualification.
fc metalist kharkiv booked their place in the round of 32 after denys oliynyk's 88th-minute winner completed a 2-1 comeback victory at home to debreceni vsc.
the hungarian visitors, the joint-lowest scorers in the group stage after matchday 4, took a surprise lead after 48 minutes through péter czvitkovics but the hosts levelled soon after when ádám bódi inadvertently put through his own net. debrecen appeared set to end their ten-game losing streak in european group stage matches, only for oliynyk to squeeze in the late decider.
the first half has offered few clues as to what was to come, although the lively marko dević demanded an early near-post save from mindaugas malinauskas. bódi's riposte was a powerful drive across goal from the edge of the area that maxym startsev parried to safety but the contest quickly tightened until the interval.
given debrecen had lost the reverse fixture 5-0 on matchday 1, their focus on resilience was understandable, yet they caught myron markevich's men cold following the break as péter kabát found space on the right and his low cross was diverted in by czvitkovics.
metalist's equaliser owed plenty to fortune as oliynyk's drive cannoned back off the post and thumped off the unwitting bódi – the 100th goal debrecen have conceded in european competition. with uc sampdoria drawing at home with psv eindhoven at that stage, the hosts knew another goal would send them through with the dutch side.
the ukrainian outfit exerted more pressure thereafter but their finishing seemed destined to let them down. edmar sliced an effort straight at malinauskas and oliynyk blazed over when well placed, but the breakthrough finally arrived after oliynyk surged to the byline and deceived malinauskas with a near-post strike. metalist, three points behind psv, can still top the group if the last set of results go their way.
