Celebrations in Banja Luka and Republika Srpska! The footballers of Borac have achieved a historic success by advancing to the Europa League play-offs after defeating the Faroe Islands champion, KI Klaksvik, 3:1 in the second leg of the third qualifying round.
A night to remember at the City Stadium! Borac secured the desired result in the second match and reached the play-off stage of the Europa League. In the next round, they will face Hungarian side Ferencváros for a spot in the Europa League group stage.
The first match will be played on August 22 at the “Groupama Arena” in Budapest, while the return leg is likely scheduled for a week later at the City Stadium in Banja Luka. Even in the case of a defeat in that two-legged tie, Banja Luka’s team will continue competing in Europe, entering the group stage of the Conference League, where they have already earned 3.1 million euros by qualifying.
After an initial exchange of strengths, the home team threatened first in the 16th minute, but Jovo Lukić’s shot was blocked, and the ball went out for a corner. After the corner kick, David Čavić played a backheel pass to Nikola Srećković, who scored from the left side with a low shot, beating the visiting goalkeeper Marko Fabricius Jensen.
Later in the first half, good chances for Banja Luka’s team came from Lukić in the 32nd minute and captain Srđan Grahovac in the 44th minute, but the score remained unchanged.
Borac was the better team, but they once again showed vulnerability in defending set-pieces in the 53rd minute. The visitors capitalized on their first serious attack, with Deni Pavlović finding the back of the net unmarked to equalize.
Nikola Srećković found the net again, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review for an offside situation. Borac then applied heavy pressure in search of a second goal, but Mark Jensen stood out with brilliant saves.
The KI Klaksvik goalkeeper made some incredible saves, including two fantastic stops in the 69th minute. He first denied Juraj Karolina’s effort and then stopped Zoran Kvržić’s shot in the follow-up. Six minutes later, he again shined, saving Srđan Savić’s attempt.
However, he was powerless in the 83rd minute. Esmir Hasukić laid off the ball perfectly for Savić, who struck precisely to make it 2:1, sending the City Stadium into a frenzy. Despite their dominance, the home team couldn’t find another goal before the end of regular time, sending the match into extra time.
Right at the start of extra time, more celebrations followed. Bart Meijers scored after a cross to make it 3:1, causing the City Stadium to erupt once again as Borac achieved the much-desired result.
Source: Glas Srpske
