Young Boys revel in 'unbelievable' result

BSC Young Boys coach Vladimir Petković said his team had "accomplished something unbelievable" after winning at Fenerbahçe SK to progress to the UEFA Champions League play-offs at the expense of the Turkish giants.

A week ago, the Berne club needed an 89th-minute penalty from Moreno Costanzo to hold ten-man Fenerbahçe to a 2-2 first-leg draw. Petković remained confident that his side's attacking game could prevail in Istanbul, and so it proved as Henri Bienvenu fired in Thierry Doubai's pass to settle the tie in the 40th minute last night.

"The first half was perfect," said Petković. "My players made up for their lack of experience with their hearts and minds." His side's prospects became even brighter in the 53rd minute when Miroslav Stoch was sent off Fenerbahçe, but still the home team came and Young Boys needed a couple of decent stops from goalkeeping captain Marco Wölfli to keep the Yellow Canaries at bay.

"We have to be honest, we made life tough for ourselves," said Wölfli. "We wasted chances and I'm glad I was able to contribute something to the victory with my save in injury time. It's quite unbelievable that we won."

Petković concurred: "For me as a coach this is probably my greatest victory ever. The team have accomplished something unbelievable. I wasn't surprised that we could keep up with such a good team as Fenerbahçe, as we produced some great performances last season."

Last season ended in disappointment for Young Boys as they were pipped to the Swiss title by FC Basel 1893 after losing a final-day showdown with their closest rivals. For now, though, there is only optimism as they await Friday's draw for the UEFA Champions League play-offs and a potential tie against the likes of Werder Bremen or Sevilla FC.