Apollon Limassol

Match report

Brann saw off Apollon Limassol 4-2 in extra time at the GSP Stadium on Tuesday night, advancing through the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League. The visitors had taken a 1-0 lead through Kristall Mani Ingason's early strike, but the Cypriot side rallied to level before Brann pulled away in the second half.

Ingason's 16th-minute goal set the tone, but Apollon refused to go away. Ivan Ljubic restored parity at 86 minutes, and Gábor Weissbeck gave the hosts hope with a 92nd-minute effort. Then Nicolai Holm returned the favour twice, striking in the 94th and 105th minutes to put Brann ahead. Kristian Eriksen added a fifth on 105 minutes — though by then the scoreboard read 4-2, with Weissbeck's goal for Apollon counting as the second.

And here's the thing about the statistics. Apollon dominated possession at 53 percent and registered 141 attacks, yet their nine shots on target yielded just two goals. Brann were more efficient, converting six attempts on target into four. The visitors also had the better of the disciplinary battle until Ingason's 118th-minute red card, which came after three yellow cards for the Cypriots.

The result means Brann have one foot in the next round, while Apollon's fourth straight win in qualifying comes to an end. The Norwegian side had lost their previous meeting 1-0 here, so this reversal was hardly expected by anyone following the form.

Prepared from match data

Key numbers

Possession, % 53 – 47

Shots on target 9 – 6

Shots off target 5 – 3

Attacks 141 – 124

⚽ 16' K. M. Ingason — Goal 🟨 30' F. Knudsen — Yellow card 🟨 32' N. Castro — Yellow card 🟨 43' A. Ozbolt — Yellow card 🟨 58' K. M. Ingason — Yellow card 🟨 73' L. Konomis — Yellow card ⇄ 74' A. Ozbolt — Substitution ⇄ 74' B. Thomas — Substitution ⇄ 74' E. Gudmundsson — Substitution ⇄ 81' J. Soltvedt — Substitution 🟨 84' Yellow card ⚽ 86' I. Ljubic — Goal ⇄ 88' N. Wassberg — Substitution ⇄ 88' N. Castro — Substitution ⇄ 90' B. Gaspar — Substitution ⇄ 90' J. Kvida — Substitution ⇄ 90+2' D. Escriche — Substitution ⚽ 90+6' N. Holm — Goal ⚽ 92' G. Weissbeck — Goal ⚽ 94' N. Holm — Goal 🟨 100' A. Shikkis — Yellow card ⚽ 105' K. Eriksen — Goal ⇄ 106' F. Knudsen — Substitution ⇄ 106' G. Weissbeck — Substitution 🟨 118' K. M. Ingason — Yellow card 🟥 118' K. M. Ingason — Red card

Match events

16' 0:1 Brann Goal K. M. Ingason assist: E. Gudmundsson
30' 0:1 Brann Yellow card F. Knudsen
32' 0:1 Brann Yellow card N. Castro
43' 0:1 Apollon Limassol Yellow card A. Ozbolt
58' 0:1 Brann Yellow card K. M. Ingason
73' 0:1 Apollon Limassol Yellow card L. Konomis
74' 0:1 Apollon Limassol Substitution A. Ozbolt off: G. Assuncao
74' 0:1 Apollon Limassol Substitution B. Thomas off: I. Ugbo
74' 0:1 Brann Substitution E. Gudmundsson off: N. Holm
81' 0:1 Brann Substitution J. Soltvedt off: V. Dragsnes
84' 0:1 Brann Yellow card
86' 1:1 Apollon Limassol Goal I. Ljubic assist: M. Brown
88' 1:1 Brann Substitution N. Wassberg off: B. Finne
88' 1:1 Brann Substitution N. Castro off: S. Magnusson
90' 1:1 Apollon Limassol Substitution B. Gaspar off: A. Shikkis
90' 1:1 Apollon Limassol Substitution J. Kvida off: E. Aiwu
90+2' 1:1 Apollon Limassol Substitution D. Escriche off: K. Balogiannis
90+6' 1:2 Brann Goal N. Holm assist: V. Dragsnes
92' 2:2 Apollon Limassol Goal G. Weissbeck
94' 2:3 Brann Goal N. Holm assist: K. Eriksen
100' 2:3 Apollon Limassol Yellow card A. Shikkis
105' 2:4 Brann Goal K. Eriksen assist: V. Dragsnes
106' 2:4 Brann Substitution F. Knudsen off: D. Mbacke
106' 2:4 Apollon Limassol Substitution G. Weissbeck off: C. Duodu
118' 2:4 Brann Yellow card K. M. Ingason
118' 2:4 Brann Red card K. M. Ingason

Statistics

53 Possession, % 47

9 Shots on target 6

5 Shots off target 3

141 Attacks 124

9 Corners 1

13 Fouls 12

17 Free kicks 20

2 Offsides 0

3 Yellow cards 3

0 Red cards 1

8 Goal kicks 9

33 Throw-ins 32

All statistics

4 Blocked shots 0

0.50 Shot accuracy 0.67

Line-ups

Starting XI
#	Player	number
22	Philipp Kühn	22
14	Giorgos Malekkidis	14
37	L. Konomis	37
44	Josef Kvída	44
76	Bruno Gaspar	76
5	Morgan Brown	5
23	Brandon Thomas Llamas	23
27	Gaétan Weissbeck	27
77	Ivan Ljubić	77
9	Alen Ožbolt	9
30	Daniel Escriche Romero	30

Substitutes
#	Player	number
41	Peter Leeuwenburgh	41
4	Emanuel Aiwu	4
19	Nearkhos Zinonos	19
26	Andreas Schikis	26
38	Konstantinos Balogiannis	38
11	Evangelos Andreou	11
12	Gustavo Enrique Giordano Amaro Assunção da Sil	12
17	Clinton Duarte	17
18	Andreas Athanasiou	18
20	Danilo Spoljaric	20
99	Iké Dominique Ugbo	99

Show full squad

Brann

Starting XI
#	Player	number
1	Mathias Lønne Dyngeland	1
3	Fredrik Pallesen Knudsen	3
17	Joachim Soltvedt	17
21	Denzel De Roeve	21
23	Thore Baardsen Pedersen	23
10	Kristall Máni Ingason	10
16	Kristian Eriksen	16
18	Jakob Lungi Sørensen	18
19	Eggert Aron Guðmundsson	19
25	Niklas Jensen Wassberg	25
9	Niklas Fernando Nygård Castro	9

Substitutes
#	Player	number
12	Simen Vidtun Nilsen	12
36	Håkon Melas Hellesøy	36
6	Cheikh Mbak Diop	6
20	Vetle Dragsnes	20
32	Markus Haaland	32
11	Bård Finne	11
22	Sævar Atli Magnússon	22
29	Noah Emmanuel Jean Holm	29