Upsetting the old order
Several new faces eye a group-stage spot
hocks, late drama and new-frontier exploits were the order of the day in the Champions League third qualifying round. And nowhere did the whittling down process go with such a bang as at an ecstatic Tallaght Stadium in Dublin, where Republic of Ireland champions Dundalk beat BATE 3-0 to knock out the far more experienced Belarusians 4-1 on aggregate.
Thanks to two Dave McMillan headers and a cool Robbie Benson finish as the clock ticked down, the Lilywhites are now on the verge of history, just 180 minutes away from becoming the first League of Ireland side to reach the Champions League group stage.
Unperturbed after only delivering a 2-2 draw at home to Serbian aristocrats Red Star in the first leg, Bulgarian title-holders Ludogorets were also in tableturning mood, stunning the 1991 Champions Cupwinners with a 4-2 extra-time win in Belgrade. The hero of the hour for Ludogorets was Brazilian attacking midfielder Wanderson, who claimed a hat-trick that included two goals in the additional half hour.
All over the continent, big-name casualties were left wondering what hit them. Shakhtar Donetsk, groupphase participants in each of the past six years, went out on penalties to Young Boys of Bern after losing 2-0 on the night in the Swiss capital. The muchdecorated Anderlecht lost 2-0 on their own patch to go out to Russian surprise packets Rostov.
In another big upset, Olympiakos fell to the Israelis of Hapoel Be’er Sheva, the latter sealing a play-off ticket with a 1-0 victory in a tense affair on home soil. The Greek side have had an almost permanent seat at the Champions League top table, taking part in 17 of the last 19 editions. However, they found Be’er Sheva too tough a nut to crack and were put out when Shir Tzedek scored 12 minutes from the end of the second leg.
Be’er Sheva, who won their first domestic league title in 40 years last term, are now aiming to become only the sixth Israeli team to feature in the Champions League group phase.
Late, late shows proved a popular theme. Celtic needed a last-minute