Cup glory for Salzburg, six for Skënderbeu
Thursday, May 19, 2016
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Salzburg have completed another Austrian double, while Skënderbeu have won a sixth successive title in Albania and Apollon Limassol have lifted the Cypriot Cup.
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Six in a row for Skënderbeu
Skënderbeu have secured their sixth straight Albanian Super League title with a 2-0 win at Flamurtari on the last day of term. Goals from Liridon Latifi and Sebino Plaku ensured Mirel Josa's team finished five points clear of Partizani, who had beaten Skënderbeu in the sides' penultimate match to take the championship race to the final game.
"After last week's loss everyone started to doubt us, but you can never underestimate the heart of these boys – champions!" said Josa. Skënderbeu forward Hamdi Salihi was the league's 28-goal top scorer, the second time he has collected the prize following his 29 goals for Tirana in 2005/06.
Second Czech Cup for Mladá Boleslav
Mladá Boleslav lifted their second Czech Cup in six years by defeating Jablonec 2-0. Two quickfire second-half strikes from substitute Jan Chramosta and Jasmin Ščuk – on 71 and 74 minutes – gave Karel Jarolím's men the glory, the coaching saying: "Now it's time to enjoy a victory that makes our season even better. After this we will think about reinforcing our squad in order to be able to reach at least the UEFA Europa League group stage." It was also a first trophy in his homeland for Milan Baroš, though the striker missed the final through injury.
Apollon avenge Omonia defeat
Apollon Limassol landed their eighth Cypriot Cup with a 2-1 success over Omonia, reversing their loss to the same opponents in the 2012 final. Fotis Papoulis gave Pedro Emanuel's Apollon the lead with a fifth-minute curling effort that evaded Antonis Giorgallides, but Omonia fought back and equalised early in the second period courtesy of a Margaça free-kick. The contest was settled when Angelis Angeli headed home an Alex da Silva free-kick with 18minutes left.
"This has been a season of joy and sadness but we have capped it off in the best possible way – by giving joy to our fans," said match winner Angeli. "We stayed calm and lifted the trophy because we had spirit."
Famous first for Radnik
Radnik Bijeljina have picked up the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Cup for the first time after a 4-1 aggregate triumph against Sloboda, runners-up for a seventh time. Following last week's 1-1 draw, Radnik – in their first final – recorded an emphatic second-leg home victory as Dušan Hodžić's early strike was complemented by a second-half double from captain Samir Memišević. "It wasn't easy to get to the final but our effort, desire and good performances have been rewarded," said coach Slavko Petković. "We deserved to win the cup and get the chance to play in Europe for the first time."
Double for Dinamo Tbilisi
Georgian champions Dinamo Tbilisi completed the domestic double with a 1-0 victory against Sioni in the cup final in Kutsai. Vakhtang Chanturishvili scored the only goal after 29 minutes.
Another double for Salzburg (Thursday)
Salzburg completed the domestic double for the third time in a row with a 5-0 cup final win against Admira. Jonatan Soriano gave them the early lead and completed his hat-trick with a penalty in the 86th minute. Youngster Konrad Laimer and Naby Keita were also on the mark for the Austrian champions. "We played very well, we have very good players and we deserved to win," Soriano said.