koper come close but dinamo cling on published: tuesday 20 july 2010, 22.00cet fc koper 3-0 nk dinamo zagreb (agg: 4-5) the slovenian titleholders fell just short of a remarkable comeback and their ten-man visitors now face fc sheriff in the third qualifying round.
by rok šinkovc from športni park
fc koper narrowly missed out on completing a sensational fightback after beating nk dinamo zagreb 3-0 only to bow out 5-4 on aggregate in their uefa champions league second qualifying round decider.
the slovenian champions had gone down 5-1 in last week's first leg, prompting the retirement of 38-year-old captain miran pavlin, but went within a whisker of a remarkable turnaround on home soil. enes handanagič's 11th-minute opener initially looked like mere consolation but ivica guberac added a second and mitja brulc a third – via the penalty spot – after dinamo captain igor bišćan's dismissal to make for a nervy closing 12 minutes for the visitors.
home skipper handanagič's header from a amir karič corner had given koper a glimmer of hope which turned to genuine belief nine minutes after the break, half-time substitute guberac repeating the trick from another karič set-piece delivery from the right. bišćan was then shown a straight red card for a foul on enej jelenič and brulc converted from the ensuing spot kick.
there was to be no grandstand finish, though, as the croatian titleholders hung on to book a third qualifying round tie with moldovan counterparts fc sheriff, who progressed courtesy of a 3-2 aggregate triumph over ks dinamo tirana.
