A rampant AZ dominated the first half in a fashion that belied the slim lead they ended the half with. After rattling off 15 shots, the Dutch side were left cursing Dominik Takac, as the Slovan goalkeeper produced a string of saves to keep his side’s deficit down to one goal.
Sven Mijnans was Takac’s primary victim, but after thwarting the midfielder three times, the goalkeeper’s luck eventually ran out on the brink of HT. Mijnans latched onto Denso Kasius’ ball into the box, and his shot in the far corner proved unstoppable even for Takáč, but the pairs’ first half story was still not finished.
Deep into time added-on time, Guram Kashia handled in the penalty box and allowed Mijnans the chance of a quickfire double, yet Takáč would enact a revenge of sorts with an excellent save away to his right.
Somehow, Vladimir Weiss’ men remained in with a chance despite managing just one shot at goal in the first half, and although AZ were less dominant in the second half, it was another 45 minutes played predominantly in the Bratislava half. A second goal, though, proved elusive, as Troy Parrot glanced his header just wide with 10 minutes to go.
As the Slovakian outfit mustered just two shots on their way to slumping to their second successive UECL defeat, their night somehow got worse when Sandro Cruz was shown a straight red after being adjudged to have elbowed an AZ defender.
That ultimately summed up a miserable night for the Belasí, while their opponents glided to victory despite the narrow scoreline. They are still looking for their first points of the league phase, while the Dutch outfit - who were playing this game two-and-a-half hours earlier than scheduled due to Storm Benjamin - can now push on as they look to reach the knockout stages.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Dominik Takáč (ŠK Slovan Bratislava)