Tromsø produced a thorough dismantling of CFR 1907 Cluj in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League, running out 5-0 winners at the Stadionul Cluj on Thursday evening. The Norwegian side made no mistake in front of goal, and here's the thing — they did it without needing much possession to do so. Cluj's home record in European qualifiers will require some explaining after this one.
H. Larsen opened the scoring in the fifth minute, then doubled his tally just before the half with a second goal in the twentieth. I. Dahlqvist added a third before the break, and the visitors never looked back after the interval. By then Cluj had already thrown on Muhar and Korenica, but the damage was done. Larsen came off in the sixty-fourth minute, having provided two assists alongside his two goals.
The statistics tell you everything you need to know. Cluj held 54 per cent possession and registered 97 attacks, yet managed only one shot on target from thirteen fouls committed. Tromsø, with 46 per cent possession, hit nine shots on target from just twelve fouls — eight of them found the net, with the other cancelled offside. Shots accuracy tells the story: 14 per cent against 82 per cent.
Nyhammer picked up a yellow card in the fifty-fifth minute after a challenge that should have been the last of its kind, while Bruno Costa and Camora joined him on the books. Tromsø's Thongla-Iad Warneryd and Nyhammer both came off late, having done enough to see out a comfortable victory. The hosts' recent form — a 1-3 defeat to Rapid on Tuesday followed by this — suggests a difficult period ahead.
Tromsø now move into the next round with a commanding aggregate position to build on. Cluj must regroup quickly, because the Conference League does not wait for teams to find their feet. Five goals without reply is not a match you recover from in conversation; it is a match you recover from in training.