published: tuesday 26 august 2014, 22.42cet fc bate borisov 3-0 šk slovan bratislava (agg: 4-1)
bate ensured a fourth group stage appearance after overpowering their visitors, who ended with ten men.
• fc bate borisov through to group stage for fourth time after a three-goal win • mikhail gordeychuk puts hosts ahead before late efforts from sergei krivets and vitali rodionov • rodionov had earlier struck woodwork twice as hosts dominated • šk slovan bratislava end with ten men after losing seydouba soumah at 1-0 down • bate enter thursday's draw; slovan bratislava move into uefa europa league
two late goals – a minute apart – ensured bate progressed to the uefa champions league group stage after overpowering ten-man slovan bratislava 3-0 in their play-off second leg in belarus.
with the tie finely poised after last week's 1-1 stalemate in slovakia, it was the hosts who handled the situation better and looked far more comfortable during the opening exchanges. they were almost ahead in the 14th minute when rodionov collected a perfectly judged ball over the defence from dmitri likhtarovich but the forward's prodded effort past dušan perniš came back off the post.
rodionov continued to threaten, driving wide from outside the area before perniš smothered after the no20 had met filip mladenović's low cross deftly at the front post. despite knowing they needed at least one goal to extend their stay in the competition, slovan struggled to break down the belarusian title holders, pavel fořt's looping header the only threat sergei chernik had to deal with before the interval.
bate eventually got their reward for their dominance four minutes before the break, rodionov's pass enabling gordeychuk to slip between the slovan central defenders and dink his shot over the onrushing goalkeeper.
knowing the result was enough to seal their progress, aleksandr yermakovich's men sat deeper after the restart, and were almost forced to pay for ceding territory. chernik produced two outstanding reaction saves in the 53rd minute, parrying fořt's initial volley from a corner before somehow denying nicolas gorosito's follow-up.
that scare revived bate and robionov rattled the woodwork for a second time, his powerful volley thumping the crossbar after expertly controlling on his chest. slovan's hopes receded when soumah picked up a second yellow with 79 minutes to gone, and the home team made it count in the closing stages, krivets calmly side-footing a second on 84 minutes before rodionov finally got on the scoresheet, smashing in off the upright a minute later.
