Djurgården earn Juve encounter

By Kestas Gimbutas at the S. Darius & S. Gireno stadium

Djurgårdens IF earned a UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie against Juventus FC by seeing off the challenge of Lithuanian title-holders FBK Kaunas.

Mikoliunas ill
With the first leg having ended 0-0, Kaunas head coach Šenderis Giršovicius underlined that it was important for his team not to concede an early goal at home to the Swedish visitors, but his plans suffered a setback when he lost midfield player Saulius Mikoliunas due to food poisoning hours before the game.

Hysén header
Djurgården had the best of the early exchanges as Tobias Hysén threatened with a header as early as the second minute. However, Kaunas soon began to show promising counterattacking play, wingers Tadas Papeckys and Andrius Gedgaudas playing important roles.

Kaunas efforts
The hosts were cursing their luck on 18 minutes when Ricardas Beniušis flicked the ball on to Marius Bezykornovas, only for his effort from eight metres to be blocked by defender Matias Concha. Three minutes later Djurgården goalkeeper Pa Dembo Tourray denied Papeckys after a diving header from point-blank range.

Away side score
Kaunas seemed to be in command, but on 25 minutes Andreas Johansson beat his marker to latch on a pass and unleash a shot which eluded goalkeeper Eduardas Kurskis and gave Djurgården a vital away goal. The strike boosted the confidence of the visitors, who showed disciplined defending and creative counterattacks.

Djurgården push
Giršovicius introduced two new strikers at half-time, but the substitutions did not help to change the game. The visitors dominated midfield and became more and more of a serious threat to Kurskis's goal.

Barson chances
Abgar Barsom was especially active on the right wing - on 50 minutes Kurskis denied him after a long shot, and five minutes later the midfield player hit the crossbar. Darius Sanajevas cleared the ball off the line between these two chances.

Powerful shot
Barsom finally scored a deserved goal on 68 minutes, when he unleashed a powerful curling shot from the corner of the penalty box into the near corner. Kaunas kept on trying to pull at least one goal back, but their opportunity had gone.

Coach 'happy'
Djurgården coach Kjell Jonevret, whose side visit Turin next week, said: "I am happy. We were sure we could score and we did so. Our defenders and goalkeeper did a fantastic job."