Santiago Castro has given Bologna a precious 1-0 first leg lead in the Europa League play-off, defeating SK Brann in Norway.
These teams met last November during the league phase, the Rossoblu unlucky not to win that 0-0 draw despite being down to 10 men for over an hour. Charalampos Lykogiannis was sent off in that game, but injured here, with Lorenzo De Silvestri cup-tied. Norwegians Brann were on a winter break, so spent the last couple of weeks in a Spanish training camp, but Niklas Castro and Saevar Atli Magnusson were out of action. The second leg of this play-off is at the Stadio Dall’Ara on February 26.
It took nine minutes to break the deadlock, as Federico Bernardeschi intercepted a wayward clearance and Niccolò Cambiaghi’s disguised pass sent Santiago Castro down the left for a precise angled drive.
Ingason had penalty appeals for a cross charged down by Martin Vitik, but his arm was under his body as he went sliding in.
Lukasz Skorupski made a desperate double save on a corner, getting a hand to the Urik Mathisen glancing header and then throwing himself in the way of a Jon Dagur Thorsteinssen tap-in.
Riccardo Orsolini came on at half-time and made an immediate impact, stinging the goalkeeper’s gloves at the near post after a deflected Nikola Moro cross.
Cambiaghi and Orsolini had efforts charged down, while another trademark Orsolini curler was palmed away by Mathias Dyngeland.
Orsolini also shimmied away from two defenders to
