Antonios Papadopoulos is not known as a photographer. The Lugano defender had already scored seven goals in his professional career, all of them in the 3rd Bundesliga. The 25-year-old German-Greek has so far had no luck in all other leagues and competitions. See you on Thursday evening at FC Lugano’s Conference League game against HJK Helsinki.
In the 34th minute, Papadopoulos simply made a save from around 25 meters. The otherwise strong HJK keeper Thijmen Nijhuis tried to block the shot with one hand – but failed. The ball flew into the goal in a high arc.
If there was going to be a hit, it was this one. Because Lugano had taken control of the game from the first minute of the game and had three top-class chances between the 9th and 15th minutes alone. Captain Mattia Bottani failed twice, Uran Bislimi failed once after a wonderful tiki-taka play. Two minutes before Papadopoulos’ opening goal, Renato Steffen also missed a great chance.
A defender also scores the 2-0
The 1-0 at half-time was well deserved and after the break, Lugano continued where it left off against the Finnish record champions: with a powerful offensive game. In the 56th minute, Ticino’s efforts were rewarded. After an attack from the right, the ball fell to Martim Marques’s feet in the penalty area and the Portuguese netted from close range. Lugano’s second goal was also scored by a defender.
After that, Mattia Croci-Torti’s team took their foot off the pedal a little. This allowed Helsinki to appear more offensive. Amir Saipi had to intervene twice in the Lugano goal in the 71st and 73rd minutes, but the 24-year-old mastered both of these tasks with ease.
The home team in exile in Thun made the final statement in front of just 932 spectators: after exactly 91 minutes, substitute Daniel Dos Santos made it 3-0 with a well-placed shot. It was a real home game for the midfielder: The 21-year-old had gone through all the youth levels at FC Thun and played 111 games for the first team before moving to Ticino in the summer with a four-year contract.
This is how it continues
The Conference League continues with the second matchday on October 24th. For Lugano, the away game against the Czech representative FK Mlada Boleslav is on the agenda. Kick-off is at 9:00 p.m. The Ticino team will be playing at FCZ in the Super League next Sunday.