FC Basel 1893 won their 3rd UEFA Europa League qualification round, 1st leg fixture against Vitesse Arnhem, 1:0. FCB´s Dutchman Ricky van Wolfswinkel scored the only goal of the night in injury time. As the fixture kicked off, the home team were in control, however FCB gradually improved, creating several chances. The 2nd half did not impress with many opportunities, until van Wolkswinkel worked his magic in 94th minute.
(Translated by Thomas Snaith)
What looked like a 3-4-3 formation, ended up being 4-2-3-1; Marcel Koller chose to play the same formation as he did last Saturday when FCB beat Grasshoppers 4:2. There were a total of 3 changes to the team: Raoul Petretta replaced Blas Riveros on the left, Valentin Stocker replaced Dimitri Oberlin and Éder Balanta surprisingly took over responsibility in defensive midfield for injured Geoffroy Serey Die (muscle injury).
Jonas Omlin kept us in the game.
After a rainy day, the weather improved towards the evening. It was still quite windy, but the roof of the GelreDome remained open for the big game.
The home team started off well; After one minute of play Vitesse created their best chance of the first half: Tim Matavz´s close range shot on target was blocked by Basel keeper Jonas Omlin. Matavz was the home team´s most noticeable player, creating several chances for his team. Either Omlin was ready (18.) or the striker missed the target (19.).
After half an hour FCB became more active and created chances for themselves. Ricky van Wolfswinkel headed the ball over the goal (31.), Albian Ajeti dribbled past Vitesse keeper Eduardo, but missed the target and Velentin Stocker failed to score in added time.
The second was not that eventful and not many chances were created on either side. Twenty minutes before the end of the fixture, FCB created danger in Vitesse´s penalty box. Basel launched a counter attack but Ricky van Wolfswinkel failed to score. Vitesse captian Maikel van der Werff stopped Kevin Bua just outside the penalty box as he was heading towards keeper Eduardo and was punished with a yellow card. Luca Zuffi took the free kick but just failed to hit the target (85.).
And then came the 94th minute….:Dimitri Oberlin retrieved the ball, set up Zuffi, who launched van Wolfswinkel towards goal, who scored in the last seconds of the game.
This fixture showed us that we still have a lot to work to do. It´s a bit of a challenge as we only have a few training sessions between games.
The only goal of the fixture not only created a big advantage for FCB in regards to the 2nd leg fixture at St. Jakob-Park, but its FCB´s 2nd consecutive victory under new coach Marcel Koller. For most of the fixture a victory was not in sight but now FC Basel 1893 return back home with 3 points and a lot more self-confidence. This positivity is what is needed for FCB´s next fixture on Sunday (4pm, St. Jakob-Park), when Basel face FC Sion. Sion will travel to Basel, well rested and motivated by their latest 2 consecutive wins.
it is important to gain even more self confidence, to become even stronger.
Vitesse Arnhem – FC Basel 1893 0:1 (0:0)
GelreDome. – 11’532 Supporters. – SR Georgi Kabakov (Bulgaria).
Goal: 94. van Wolfswinkel 0:1 (Zuffi).
Vitesse: Eduardo; Karavaev, van der Werff, Clarke-Salter, Büttner (87. Clark); Serero, Bruns (70. Gong), Foor; Linssen, Matavz, Beerens.
FCB: Omlin; Widmer, Suchy, Cümart, Petretta; Frei, Balanta; van Wolfswinkel Zuffi, Stocker (79. Bua); Ajeti (92, Oberlin).
Notes: Vitesse without Kruiswijk (injured). FCB without Antonio, Kuzmanovic, Serey Die and Xhaka (all injured). Substituts FCB: Bua, Campo, Kaiser, Hansen, Oberlin, Okafor and Riveros. – Yellow Cards: 60. Widmer 65. Karavaev 73. Gong 83 van der Werff 84. Frei.
09.08.2018
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