Hajduk hosted Cyprus’s Pafos at Poljud tonight in the first leg of the Europa League second qualifying round. Having knocked out Slovakia’s Žilina in the first round, the Split side faced a tough task against a team that competed in the Champions League last season.
Should Gonzalo Garcia’s side get past Pafos, they’ll face Austria’s Salzburg in the third qualifying round, while the losing side drops into the Conference League third qualifying round, taking on the winner of the tie between Georgia’s Dinamo Tbilisi and Lithuania’s Žalgiris.
Lineups
Hajduk: Silić; Acapandie, Marešić, Van Hoorenbeeck, Hrgović — Pajaziti, Pukštas — Brajković, Dalisson, Melnjak — Šego
Pafos: Majecki; Mmaee, Luiz, Goldar — Ioannou, Šunjić, Pepe, Jaja — Gabriel Teixeira, Dragomir, Lele
Match report
Pafos threatened early on when Pajaziti lost the ball in midfield in the 4th minute and pulled back Teixeira to stop the counter, picking up the game’s first yellow card in the process.
Hajduk responded with a promising move in the 5th minute, as Šego laid the ball back to Melnjak, who left it for Hrgović, though Pafos managed to cut the move short before it could develop.
Hajduk had their first real sight of goal in the 8th minute, when a dangerous free-kick from Šego cannoned off the defensive wall and out for a corner.
Pafos threatened in the 15th minute, when a long-range free-kick was met by Goldar’s header, but Silić dealt with it comfortably. Hajduk’s early total dominance eased slightly by the 18th minute, when Pepe’s long-range effort drifted harmlessly over the bar.
Hrgović and Melnjak combined well down the left in the 21st minute to get in behind the Pafos defense, but Hrgović’s low ball into the middle failed to find a teammate.
The game grew more even by the 29th minute, though Pafos still hadn’t created a genuine chance of their own. Hajduk came desperately close in the 25th minute, when Melnjak whipped in a superb ball to the box for Šego, who was a fraction late arriving and couldn’t quite get enough on it to test the keeper.
Dalisson showed good feet between two defenders in the 31st minute, feeding the ball left to Hrgović, who curled an effort towards the far post from an angle — somewhere between a shot and a cross.
Poljud rang with whistles in the 35th minute after Dalisson went down under a challenge, followed by a foul awarded against Pajaziti in a similar situation moments later, with the Albanian, already on a yellow card, now needing to be careful.
Hajduk almost broke through again in the 41st minute, when Hrgović whipped in another sharp delivery from the left towards the far post, but Šego couldn’t quite connect with a sliding effort.
Pafos had a sight of goal in the 43rd minute, when Dragomir’s corner found David Luiz, but his header lacked any real danger.
Only one minute of stoppage time was played before the referee brought the first half to a close.
The second half got underway with no changes to either side.
Hajduk won a dangerous free-kick in the 55th minute when Ioannou fouled Brajković and was booked for his troubles, handing Hajduk a chance from a threatening position.
They made it count immediately. In the 56th minute, Šego stepped up to the resulting free-kick from around 20 meters and beat the Pafos goalkeeper with the aid of the crossbar — Hajduk led 1-0!
Pafos made a double change in the 62nd minute, with Pepe and Goldar making way for Brito and Bruno.
Hajduk doubled their lead just three minutes later. In the 65th minute, Acapandie and Dalisson combined with a slick one-two down the right, and Acapandie’s ball into the middle was turned home with a brilliant reaction finish from Melnjak’s left foot — 2-0 to Hajduk!
Pafos took the initiative in the 70th minute and pushed forward with everything they had, but Hajduk’s defense held firm.
Pafos made another double change in the 74th minute, with Šunjić and Dragomir replaced by Quina and Rodrigues.
Garcia responded with a triple substitution of his own in the 77th minute, bringing on Livaja, Skelin and Del Moral for Šego, Marešić and Dalisson — with Livaja’s introduction greeted by a thunderous ovation from the stands.
Huram replaced Melnjak in the 82nd minute. Hajduk’s defense continued to hold firm. Pafos pressed but had yet to fashion a genuine chance.
In the 87th minute, Huram received a yellow card.
Three minutes of stoppage time were added, and Pafos had one last chance with a free kick just outside the box, but it was an easy clear for Hajduk.
The game finished 2-0. The second leg is next Thursday, July 30th, in Paphos.
