Belated AaB win knocks out Hapoel

Kasper Risgård scored one and created another as Aalborg BK won in vain at Group G rivals Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC, ending the Israeli side's campaign in the process.

Penalty joy
Midfielder Risgård volleyed the opener after 27 minutes then turned provider for Thomas Enevoldsen to seal victory in the 66th minute. In between times, Fábio Júnior, who had earlier rattled the bar, struck a superb equaliser for Hapoel – but the match had turned back in AaB's favour once Michael Jakobsen converted a second-half penalty.

Missing out
The result, AaB's first win of the group stage, carried the Danish team up to fourth position yet it was not enough to secure a place in the knockout stage. Hapoel, who ended up bottom of Group G, had been lively in the early exchanges as they sought to add to their still competitive three-point tally. Just five minutes had been played when Dani Bondarv supplied a cross which Fábio Júnior directed against the bar from 18 metres.

Volleyed finish
AaB efforts from Caca and Jeppe Curth stemmed the tide somewhat, although a hopeful Hapoel side still looked the more dangerous. Then, however, the complexion of the contest changed as the visitors grabbed the lead when Caca's precise cross from the right found Risgård who blasted in.

Half-time boost
Enevoldsen and Curth next went close as AaB chased a second goal, but Erik Hamrén's men were made to pay for missed opportunities when the hosts equalised seconds before the break. Fábio Júnior did the damage, controlling Barukh Dego's pass on the edge of the box and drilling the ball into the top right corner.

Immediate response
However, the locals' joy was short-lived as five minutes after the restart Mazowa Nsumbu fouled Curth in the area and Jakobsen made no mistake from the penalty spot. Risgård and Enevoldsen then brought fine saves from Vincent Enyeama as AaB strove to make the result certain. They did just that on 66 minutes when Enevoldsen dispatched Risgård's centre. Hapoel were duly out of the competition together with their conquerors.