Brattbakk rescues Rosenborg
Tuesday, 24 August 2004
[1] Rosenborg BK battled back from two goals down to clinch a second-leg victory against ten-man Maccabi Haifa FC in their UEFA Champions League third qualifying round encounter.
Brattbakk heroics
[2] Only a stunning 90th-minute free-kick from Harald Brattbakk prevented the Israeli club progressing to the group stage of the illustrious competition after they had gone 2-0 up on the night through Walid Badir and Gustavo Boccoli. But, after Brattbakk gave the Norwegian side a lifeline, extra-time goals from Daniel Braaten and Ørjan Berg sealed victory on the night and overall.
Straight red
[3] Having lost the opening leg 2-1 in Trondheim, the Israeli outfit looked to be heading for further trouble after 25 minutes when defender Najwan Ghrayib was shown a straight red card for a late tackle on Jan Gunnar Solli. But Maccabi Haifa quickly regrouped and just six minutes later Badir's 20-metre shot slipped through the fingers of Rosenborg goalkeeper Espen Johnsen to make it 1-0 on the night.
Floodlight failure
[4] The home side seemed firmly in control and went further ahead when the Rosenborg defence let in Boccoli to stab in from close range. However, the Israeli team lost their rhythm after the interval as a series of floodlight failures caused several long breaks in play. Rosenborg were duly able to regroup and once Brattbakk forced extra time, the visitors found another gear to surge to victory.