Trabzonspor 0 : 1 Legia Warszawa - Legia battle to victory

Posted Friday, October 03, 2014 by PA

Legia Warsaw maintained their 100 per cent start to Europa League Group L with a battling 1-0 away win at Trabzonspor in Turkey.

Forward Michal Kucharczyk netted what proved to be the winner after 17 minutes with a neat finish to give Henning Berg's men a hard-earned victory and somehow held out to inflict only the second home European defeat for Trabzonspor in the last 10 games.

Trabzonspor - who beat Legia home and away in the group stages last season - had made a decent start, with a 20-yard effort from midfielder Mehmet Ekici drifting wide and Oscar Cardozo's shot saved by goalkeeper Dusan Kuciak.

The Poles, though, also posed a threat.

Midfielder Miroslav Radovic saw his 25-yard effort saved, but Onur Kivrak was beaten soon afterwards when Kucharczyk slotted home with a neat finish from a ball up field by Ivica Vrdoljak.

Trabzonspor quickly looked for an equaliser, but Kuciak saved Abdul Majeed Waris' 20-yard shot and then denied the striker again with another good stop from a long-range strike on the half-hour.

Fatih Atik had a goalbound shot blocked, with former Porto and Chelsea defender Jose Bosingwa firing over from the resulting corner.

Waris forced two more saves from the busy Warsaw keeper before the half-time interval.

The visitors looked to relieve the pressure following the restart, with Michal Zyro's 20-yard shot saved by Kivrak.

Trabzonspor were denied an equaliser by the woodwork on 69 minutes when substitute Sefa Yilmaz's header from Bosingwa's ball in struck the crossbar.

Kevin Constant then also went close for the Turkish Super Lig side, before Kuciak palmed away a point-blank header from Mustapha Yatabare following a corner.

Warsaw finished the match with 10 men after Michal Zyro collected a second yellow card.

Constant and then Trabzonspor substitute Mustapha Yatabare both had shots blocked as Berg's men held out over the closing stages and through some eight minutes of added time to claim the points.