Go Ahead Eagles held to goalless draw by Braga, eliminated from the Europa League
Go Ahead Eagles came up just short in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday. The club from Deventer drew 0-0 with the Portuguese club Braga, which means that Go Ahead has been knocked out of the competition.
Go Ahead knew prior to the game that a lot of dominoes would have to fall in their favor for them to go through. Melvin Boel’s team needed to beat Braga, who finished within the top eight of the competition, and needed several teams to lose for them to advance to the playoff round.
It was Go Ahead’s first game without their former team captain, Mats Deijl, who joined Feyenoord last week. His place was taken by Aske Adelgaard.
It was an extremely uneventful game. Go Ahead struggled to create, and the visitors knew that a draw would likely be sufficient for them to advance into the top eight, resulting in a dire game.
Although Go Ahead were the side more in control of the first half at the Adelaarshorst, it was Braga who came closest to breaking the deadlock near the end of the first half. A cross from Rodrigo Salazar was headed inches wide of the post by Fran Navarro.
In the end, the closest Go Ahead came to a goal was with around 10 minutes to go when Mathis Suray hit a shot from just inside the area, but even this went comfortably wide.
Boel’s side were fortunate not to lose it four minutes later when a cross from Pau Victor was headed onto the post by Go Ahead midfielder Melle Meulensteen.
The Go Ahead supporters received applause from their supporters after the final whistle. The club, which qualified for the European competition by winning the KNVB Cup last season, surprised many by getting seven points. This included memorable evenings for their supporters, like the away win against Panathinaikos and Aston Villa, who finished with the joint highest points in the competition league phase.
Now, Boel’s side will focus on steering clear of a relegation battle. They are currently five points ahead of Telstar, who are in the relegation playoff spot. They also face Telstar in the quarter-final of the KNVB Cup next Thursday evening.
