Something completely different was supposed to be published here. After all, even the draw at Parken, which Jagiellonia managed to win after Afimico Pululu's goal and maintain for several dozen minutes, would be accepted by the Polish champions with a kiss. Copenhagen pushed as hard as they could, had more chances, but when everyone was getting ready from Parken and the hosts' frustration was reaching zenithsomething happened that exceeded everyone's imagination. After all, just a moment earlier, German Onugkha wasted a good header that brought a groan of despair from the stands, and could have just as easily given three points to Copenhagen.
The Irish referee, Robert Harvey, was about to whistle for the last time when Sławomir Abramowicz kicked the ball out, Taras Romanczuk collected the second ball carefully, and after a while Afimico Pululu played it perfectly to Darko Czurlinov, who was taking a clear position, and for the Macedonian perhaps this moment lasted forever, but with a calm flat shot he managed to surprise Nathan Trott and after a while he was able to run in a frenzy of joy to the nearby fans' sector from Białystok. He couldn't control himself, just like his colleagues who, along with the reserves and staff, ran towards him as fast as they could. Shocking! It was a shock! Parken suddenly fell silent, only a few hundred people were raging in one of the corners of the pitch. Jagiellonia fans will remember this moment for the rest of their lives.
Jagiellonia lost its defense leader and a quick goal. This wasn't supposed to end well
The Białystok club made its debut in the league (previously group) phase of European cups, so it couldn't have been better, and yet after what happened with Jagiellonia Białystok in away games against Bodo/Glimt and Ajax Amsterdam, it was difficult to be optimistic. After all, the Białystok team faced FC Copenhagen at Parken. Last season, the rival was able to advance to the 1/8 finals of the Champions League, and has not lost at home this season.
It was easy to point out the favorite of this competition, but this time the Polish champion entered the match in Copenhagen after three victories in a row in the league, in which he played much more calculated and wiser football than before. This was supposed to help on Parken as well. – We start with a high “C” – Copenhagen is our strongest opponent, but maybe that's a good thing. We will want to show that the matches behind us have given us a lot of experience, declared coach Adrian Siemieniec at a press conference.
And although one of the journalists at the hosts' conference called the European Conference League the “Mickey Mouse Cup”, probably greeting Kamil Kosowski, Copenhagen did not underestimate Jagiellonia in any way, fielding the strongest eleven, while just before the match misfortune befell the Polish champion, Adrian Siemienic lost the undisputed defensive leader – Mateusz Skrzypczak, who was called up to the national team, suffered a minor muscle injury.
A strong rival, playing in its stronghold, and Jagiellonia's already leaky defense, in addition, playing without its leader – such a mixture portends huge problems, right?
Shock at Parken, buzzer-beater by Czurlinowa! Jagiellonia caused a huge sensation
But the beginning of the match heralded even more problems, because Jagiellonia was surprised in the simplest way in the 12th minute. The hosts scored a goal after a corner kick and took the lead thanks to Pantelis Hatzidiakos. But although the statistics may not have shown it – Jagiellonia did not take a single shot before the break – it was a different match than those in Bodo or Amsterdam. She wasn't so dominated, she was able to fight back with trips into the opponent's defensive zone, most often she just lacked the decision to shoot. Football players Adrian Siemienica looked for a better solution at all costs, but it turned out to be a mistake because it resulted in losses.
Copenhagen had more chances, they probably could have increased the score, but they didn't do it and going into the break with the score 1-0, there was no impression that this match could end with only one result.
This was confirmed after the break, when in the 54th minute Marcin Listkowski and Joao Moutinho played the ball on the left side of the pitch, the Portuguese crossed the ball flat from under the end line towards Afimico Pululu, and the latter shot with a spectacular backheel to lead to a draw. Parken was shocked for the first time.
The hosts scored on Sławomir Abramowicz's goal twice, but each time it was through an action preceded by a clear offside. Goals by Mohamed Elyounoussi and Elias Achouri could not be allowed, and even someone who closely watched both Copenhagen actions from a good position knew that. At the end there were two good chances for the hosts after heading shots, but the ball did not go into Jaga's goal as if by magic. And finally came this “buzzer-beater” performed by Darko Czurlinow.
“New” Jagiellonia won again. She proved again that “sky is the limit”
Jagiellonia played differently than before. And it won for the fourth time in a row, taking a giant step towards the knockout stage of the European Conference League. Now it will face rivals who are weaker than Copenhagen, and while the Norwegian Molde still seems to be a rival at a higher level than the Polish champion, Jaga should regularly score points with the others.
After the final whistle, Jagiellonia fans celebrated with the team for a long time, then greeted coach Adrian Siemieniec, sports director Łukasz Masłowski and, above all, president Wojciech Pertkiewicz, who announced his departure from Jagi at the end of the year during the week. Their Jagiellonia showed once again that “sky is the limit”. Who would have expected such a scenario a year and a half ago, when the Białystok team was desperately defending itself against relegation?