Sports News: Football
Partizan spurned a 2 goal lead against Fenerbahce
Partizan spurned a 2 goal lead against Fenerbahce in their 3rd round Champions League qualifier in Belgrade. The Serbian side looked to have the game by the scruff of its neck when Veljko Paunović and Miloš Bogunović put them 2-0 up within 14 minutes. But Fenerbahçe showed a repeated ability to claw back deficits in last season's run to the quarter-finals and captain Alex converted a penalty deep in first-half added time before one of visiting coach Luis Aragonés's, Daniel Güiza, equalised in the 50th minute.
Slaviša Jokanović's men, going into the match as clearer underdogs against last season's quarter-finalists and Turkish champions, dominated the first half. In one of the best 45 minutes of football witnessed at Humska in many a year, Partizan tore into the Turks, managed by former Spain boss Luis Aragones, to move 2-0 up within the first 15 minutes.
With only 11 minutes on the clock, Lamine Diarra laid the ball back to Stevanović, whose accurate cross to the far post was nodded home by Veljko Paunović. Scarcely had the fans stopped celebrating the first goal than three minutes later Bogunić sent Diarra through one-on-one with Fenerbahce keeper Volkan Demirel. Although Demirel was able to parry the Senegalese striker’s shot, the ball broke back to the onrushing Bogunić, who gratefully tucked the ball home to double the home side's lead.
By this time, delirium was reigning in the stands, and a return to the Champion's League after a six-year absence was becoming ever more tangible.
With the Turkish defence in disarray, Bogunić was only denied a third goal in 23 minutes by the linesman's flag. Lazić sent a hopeful ball into the penalty area that clipped the striker, looping high into the air and beyond Demirel's despairing clutches. However, just as the South stand was about to erupt for a third time, the referee ruled that Bogunić had strayed into an offside position.
With 45 minutes played, and the half-time interval beckoning, disaster struck for Partizan. Milovan Sikimić brought Alex down in the penalty area, and referee Craig Thomson had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. The Brazilian striker converted with ease to bring Fenerbahce back into the tie.
Things got even worse four minutes into the second half. Lugano sent a long ball from deep inside his own half that was flicked on by Shenturk at the edge of the Partizan penalty box. The ball broke to the unmarked Guisa, who comfortably slotted home to level the match, as the referee turned a deaf ear to the Partizan players' [justified, as TV replays proved] appeals of offside.
The action in the remaining 40 minutes was markedly subdued, as the visitors seemed content to hold on for 2-2, while Partizan simply seemed to run out of ideas.
The Serbian champions had one last chance to seal victory seven minutes from time, when following a corner, a goalmouth scramble ensued, with the ball falling to Paunović 12 yards out, but he sent his shot sailing over the crossbar when it seemed easier to score.
Fenerbahce then go into the return leg in Istanbul in a fortnight's time as hot favorites to reach the Champions League group stages. Source: B92
