Karabük, Trabzon shine on good European night for Turkish teams

Karabük's defender Erkan Kaş celebrates with Congolese forward Dominick Kumbela after the latter's goal against Saint Etienne at Necmettin Şeyhoğlu Stadium on Aug. 21. AFP Photo / Bülent Kılıç

Kardemir Karabükspor and Trabzonspor cruised to victories on a good night for Turkish clubs in the UEFA Europa League playoffs on Aug. 21.

Karabükspor managed a slender, one-goal victory over French opponents Saint-Etienne 1-0 at home, while Trabzonspor beat Russia’s Rostov 2-0 in the first leg of the playoffs in a bid to advance to the group stages in the second-tier European club competition.

The victory was somewhat expected for Trabzonspor, which has lured many talented players during the transfer window, but Karabükspor’s victory was a surprising one.

The Blue Flame was inserted into the Europa League qualifiers along with eighth-placed Bursaspor only after fifth-placed Sivasspor and Turkish Cup runner-up Eskişehirspor were barred from the competition due to their alleged involvement in a match-fixing scandal.

Despite being a late addition, Karabükspor has made the most of its chances, knocking out the comparative giants of Rosenborg of Norway on the away goals’ rule before winning its first-ever European match against its French opponents.

After being handed arguably the toughest opponent in the tie, many people had written Karabükspor off, but the team, hailing from northern Turkey, played a solid game and beat Saint-Etienne by a sole goal.

Congolese forward Domi Kumbela got the solitary goal in the 60th minute with a vicious drive that clipped the post on the way in. Karabükspor will advance to the Europa League group stages with a win, draw or even one-goal loss – provided it scores – in France next week.

Coach Tolunay Kafkas praised his players for executing his tactics perfectly on the pitch.

“Our opponents are really strong, both...

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