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On Wednesday 18 October, FC Twente and BK Häcken play their final Champions League qualification game at Twentes stadium De Golsch Veste. As the first game ended in a draw, Wednesday’s winner will make it into the group stages.
This draw was the result of an entertaining game that both teams could have gone both ways. Twente started the game very strong, creating chance after chance, but were unable to score. However, after 15 minutes, Häckens defense made a mistake by accidentally playing the ball into Twente striker Taylor Ziemers’ feet. She ran towards the goal and skillfully shot it in the back of the net. Twente kept dominating possession throughout the first half, but minutes before halftime, Felicia Schröder was able to score the first goal for Häcken. Just before that, Twente midfielder Wieke Kaptein ended up lying injured on the field. Häcken scored their second goal mere minutes into the second half when after a cross from Anna Sandberg, Katariina Kosola managed to find the goal. Ten minutes later, Häcken’s goalkeeper let the ball drop in the goal after a shot from Leonie Vlek, giving Twente their equalizer.
The second game is expected to be thrilling with two very motivated teams. Last year, neither made it to the group stage. Both teams played in the qualification, but Häcken went out against powerhouse PSG and Twente lost against Benfica. Luckily, both teams became second in their respective leagues last season. Now they’re allowed to participate in the qualifying rounds this year.
Upcoming Wednesday, there is no doubt that both teams will do everything to win the game. However, this will, for either team, be quite a challenge, as the teams are very evenly matched. Twente has sold already more than 7,500 tickets for the game, which is very promising for the atmosphere in the stadium as well.
So, after last week’s 2-2 draw in Sweden, Häcken and Twente will play a challenging dual to win the game to qualify for this season’s Champions League.