Young Bulls' Youth League dream over

FC Red Bull Salzburg

·25 April 2025

Young Bulls' Youth League dream over

1-2 defeat in semi-finals

Our first defeat of the UEFA Youth League season came at the wrong time as we were beaten 1-2 by Trabzonspor in the semi-final. The Turkish youngsters prevailed with their only two shots on goal in Nyon, both of which were from distance.

Match summary

We had 90 minutes to seal a spot in the final, and our boys were raring to seize on the chance. Both teams made a positive start to the encounter, with Daniel Beichler's side being the more active despite missing a number of key players. We created plenty of chances down the flanks, but it proved difficult to find someone to meet our deliveries into the area.

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We had the chance to take the lead in the 37th minute, when Brandtner was fouled in the Trabzonspor area. Lukic stepped up to take the spot kick and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way but also put the ball the wrong side of the post. We therefore went into the break goalless, despite our strong performance.

The second half started in a less eventful tone. Trabzonspor barely came within sight of our penalty area, but we did not find creating chances easy, either. Moser got on the ball in the box in the 57th minute, and weaved this way and that, but wasn't able to get his shot away. The game was much less fluent than in the first period.

Trabzonspor then turned the game on its head - smashing an opener in the 73rd minute with an unstoppable effort from distance, totally against the run of play. Despite a hectic few minutes, we were able to get back on level terms against Eyüp Saka's side as Mellberg twisted from a Lukic corner and fired in amid a goalmouth scramble for our Young Bulls (85').

Another shock then came as we pressed for a winner - another long-range effort from Trabzonspor sent them in front, as Baskan sent the travelling Turkish fans wild (89'). As much as we tried, we couldn't restore parity.

Views

We have to accept the defeat, as it's a simple fact. There is no question we were the better team for the whole match, but that's football - they shot twice on goal but hit two great strikes! We weren't able to make use of our dominance and numerous opportunities in the opposing area, unfortunately, and that was the difference in the end. The boys are all extremely disappointed along with us all in the coaching team, and it will take a while to get over it. We had a really good Youth League season and a special journey, which unfortunately ended one match too soon.

Daniel Beichler

We are very disappointed. We gave our all today, and played really well. It is difficult to say anything too intelligent - we had our chances to win it. We showed who we are and how we can play. The goals conceded were unfortunate, as both shots came from well outside the penalty area.

Rocco Zikovic

Facts & Figures

Line-up: Zawieschitzky; Hussauf (90' Zabransky) – Schuster – Zikovic © – Mellberg – Brandtner; Moser – Lukic – Paumgartner (88' Bendra); Murillo (71' Dobis) – Camara (71' Freund) Yellow cards: None Referee: Jasper Vergoote (BEL)