TIRANA, Aug. 20 – A stoppage time goal by Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb has almost vanished Skenderbeu’s hopes of its Champions League dream qualification as it suffered a 2-1 loss at home in the first leg of the play-off.
It all started well for Skenderbeu in the first half when its captain Bledi Shkembi converted a free kick but the five-time consecutive Albanian champions lost ground in the second half when Dinamo dominated the match equalizing in the 66th minute and scoring a priceless away winner in the 93rd minute just before the final whistle.
“I cannot say that was the right result. It was a match that we deserved to draw. In the second half we played better than the first, though our goal came in the first half. The result does not give us much chance to make the group stage but we are going to Zagreb to play our game and to hope for something special,” said Skenderbeu coach Mirel Josa.
Skenderbeu became the first Albanian club to qualify for the Champions League play-offs after beating Moldova’s Milsami 4-0 on aggregate in the competition’s third qualifying round.
The club has already made history in European football as they have already automatically qualified for the less prestigious Europa League group stage even if they fail to qualify in the Champions League play-offs.
Skenderbeu’s European dream has also been lucky as it previously beat Northern Ireland’s Crusaders, a semi-professional club and was drawn against Moldova’s Milsami in the third round.
