A goal by Tian Nai Koren off a cleverly rehearsed free kick during the first half was enough for Club NXT U19 to beat MŠK Žilina U19 and qualify for the quarterfinals of the UEFA Youth League. The Slovaks still forced chances during the second half, but ultimately failed to score.
In the eighth finals of the UEFA Youth League, Club NXT U19 drew to the lesser-known MŠK Žilina who eliminated Liverpool in the previous round. In front of a full stadium, Blue-Black started in a wait-and-see manner. The pitch was in a wretched condition and did not allow smooth combinations. The ball collided continuously. MŠK Žilina U19 also waited and waited. As a result, there was little goal threat in the early stages. Okal steamed through on his flank and crossed. The cross went over the Argus goal. Vandeperre also made it to the back line and crossed in turn. Pavlik was able to clear and away was the chance for Club NXT U19. A sharp corner kick by Koren was also cleared by goalkeeper Joki. There was a brief scare for Blue-Black when Baleja was played in nicely by Bortoli. From just outside the penalty area, he kicked the ball out just above the store hook. Kosa then took our captain Goemaere at speed and crossed, but Verlinden prevented Bortoli from finishing. Club NXT U19 countered with some nice crosses from the flanks, but Da Silva and Musuayi just couldn't reach them. After a foul on Okon, Delorge kicked the free kick low through the wall and Koren popped the ball into the net. 0-1 via a cleverly rehearsed free kick. From then on, Club NXT U19 played liberated and combined calmly. The Slovaks were a bit put out. Da Silva had a great opportunity to double the score shortly before halftime. After a solo he kicked the ball wide. We went to rest with a small lead.
At the start of the second half, Club NXT U19 controlled the game. The Slovaks couldn't really put our goalie to work. He easily grabbed a free kick. After almost an hour of play, there was a lot of hassle in front of the Bruges goal, but Argus finally caught Gucik's weak header. After more than an hour of play, Lund Jensen was guided through the defense by Musuayi. He stormed towards goalkeeper Joki alone, but the ball bounced too far away due to the poor condition of the pitch and goalkeeper Joki was in the way and was able to prevent a goal. MŠK Žilina U19 still believed in its chances and was very dangerous at minute seventy. Argus was hampered a bit by Verlinden which suddenly put the ball at the feet of Pecsuk. He kicked the ball wide. Barely a minute later Stanik rushed past Lund Jensen and kicked the ball out just past the far post. It would be another twenty exciting minutes, that much was certain. For his part, the substitute Van Britsom was able to poke at goal twice but first his shot was blocked and in the rebound a defender worked in a corner. A lot of substitutions were made by both teams. The battle became fiercer on the pitch. The Bulgarian referee urged calm. On a corner kick, goalkeeper Joki did not work the ball well and Vandeperre kicked rock hard toward goal, but the ball was popped back into the field. The clock was ticking on. Blue-Black fought for every inch of field. In the process, they picked up a few more yellow cards. At the very end MŠK Žilina U19 got two corner kicks. In one of them Vandeperre saved on the line. The referee allowed eight minutes to pass, but Blauw-Zwart won 0-1 against MŠK Žilina U19 and is in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Youth League.
Club NXT U19: Argus Vanden Driessche, Alexander Vandeperre, Laurens Goemaere, Wout Verlinden, Mohamed Elbay, Lucas Delorge, Jessi Da Silva (60' Jakke Van Britsom), Gianluca Okon (90+4' Axl Wins), Tian Nai Koren (81' Utku Kurtal), Yanis Musuayi, Tobias Lund Jensen (80' Naïm Amengai). Bank: Stefan Ostojci, Jean-Paul Bayiha, Daan Braspenning, Sacha Marloye, Andre Garcia. Coach: Jonas De Roeck.
MŠK Žilina U19: Jakub Joki, Marek Okal, Martus Pavlik, Tobias Paliscak, Teodor Stanik (82' Dominik Kmet), Marko Vaclavek, Fabian Bzdyl, Marco Bortoli, Frantisek Kosa, Nicolas Gucik (61' Dominik Pecsuk), Patrik Beleja (82' Tadeas Korencik). Bank: Tamas Tarcsi, Martin Mesko, Manuel Yendare, Gianluigi Barcik, Abdul Majid Ibrahim, Samuel Tichy. Coach: Michal Kijacik.
Goals: 35' Koren 0-1.
Yellow cards: 20' Bortoli, 48' Delorge, 86' Elbay, 90+1' Van Britsom, 90+4' Okon, 90+6' Musuayi 90+7' Joki.
Referee: Radoslav Gidzhenov (Bulgaria).
Stadium: MŠK Žilina stadium, Žilina.
Spectators: 10,572.
