Levski Sofia 1 - Besiktas 1

Wednesday 2nd August 2000 by OneFootball.com

Tayfur Havutu’s goal 10 minutes before half-time against Levski Sofia on Wednesday night proved enough to send Besiktas through to the Champions’ League third round qualifying stage.

With Levski trying to come back from a goal down after the Istanbul leg, the early encounters were frantic. The Bulgarians left gaps at the back as they chased forward to cancel out the first leg deficit and Ahmet Dursun and Marcus Munch both went close for Besiktas early on.

At the other end, Georgi Ivanov was unlucky to see his shot turned around for a corner by Ike Shorunmu.

On 35 minutes, the Black Eagles seemed to have the tie dead and buried when Nihat Kahveci’s right wing cross was flicked on to the far post and the unmarked Tayfur Havutcu buried a firm header.

If Miroslav Karhan had not shot wide five minutes later, Levski’s task would have been hopeless.

Besiktas opened the second half still looking for the killer punch and Ahmet Dursun forced Ivankov into a scrambling save at the foot of the post.

But Levski refused to lie down and drew level on the night with another far post header from a right wing cross in the 64th minute. The Besiktas defence stopped, thinking the ball had gone out for a goal-kick, but the linesman allowed play to continue and Georgi Markov clipped the ball home off the inside of the post.

Levski now needed two goals to progress, but although they huffed and puffed, Shorunmu’s goal was never under serious threat.

Besiktas could have gone further ahead 14 minutes from time when Ayhan Akman had a penalty appeal turned down after being upended from behind when clean through on Ivankov.

Besiktas now meet Lokomotiv Moscow in the third qualifying round.

Stadium: Georgi Asporuchov 

Referees: Morgan Norman xxx, Michael Nilsson xxx, Kenneth Petersson xxx (Isveç) 

Levski Sofya: Ivankov xx, Stankov xx, Stoilov xx, B.Ivanov x, Markov x, Pajin xx, Alexandrov xx, Cihmeystruk x, G.Ivanov xx, Stoyanov xx, Topuzakov x 

Besiktas: Shorunmu xxx, Karhan xx (Rahim xx), Tayfur xxx, Halilagiç xx, Ahmet xx, Nihat xxx, Mehmet xxx (Ayhan xx), Münch xxx, Ümit xx, Khlestov xx (Erman xx), Nouma xxx

Bulgarians frustrated as Besiktas qualify

Wednesday 2nd August 2000 by Uefa.com

A 1-1 draw against PFC Levski Sofia at the Gueorgui Asparuhov stadium was enough for Turkish side Besiktas JK to proceed to the UEFA Champions League Third Qualifying Round and a match against Lokomotiv Moscow, after they had recorded a narrow 1-0 first leg success against their Bulgarian opponents one week previous.

Havutçu strikes

Levski immediately attempted to make up for lost ground from that match in Istanbul, as they chased forward straight from kick off. However, their offensive tactics left gaps in defence, and Ahmet Dursun and Marcus Munch both went close for Besiktas early on. However, at the other end, Gueorgui Ivanov was unlucky to see his shot deflected for a corner by Ike Ibrahim Shorunmu in the Turkish goal. The Bulgarian champions looked more and more desperate to open the scoring as they pushed more and more men forward, but a rapid Turkish counter-attack unhinged Levski, when Nihat Kahveci’s right wing cross was flicked to the far post and the unmarked Tayfur Havutçu planted a firm header past Dimitar Ivankov.

Levski leveller

Besiktas looked to put the tie out of the reach for the hosts upon the restart, and Ahmet Dursun forced Ivankov into a scrambling save at the foot of the post. But Levski refused to surrender and restored parity with another far post header from a right wing cross in the 64th minute. The Besiktas defence hesitated, thinking the ball had gone out for a goal-kick, but the linesman allowed play to continue and Gueorgui Markov clipped the ball home off the inside of the post. Levski still required two goals to progress, and although they continued to press, Shorunmu’s goal was never under serious threat.