Host club Osijek scored twice at the start of the second half to secure their progress to second round

Daire Walsh

Women’s Champions League first qualifying round: Osijek 2 Peamount United 1

The concession of two quick-fire goals at the start of the second half proved decisive as Peamount United’s European journey came to an end against Croatian outfit Osijek at Stadion Gradski Vrt on Saturday.

Despite taking the lead through Dearbhaile Beirne in the early moments of this Women’s Champions League first qualifying round tie, goals from Izabela Lojna and Paula Petkovic ensured it was Osijek who advanced to the next phase.

Having sprang into life in last Wednesday’s semi-final win over Dinamo Minsk with a seventh-minute goal from Ellen Dolan, Peamount enjoyed an even faster start to their clash with the tournament’s host team. After Osijek goalkeeper Arina VasilikiAnastasiadis failed to hold on to Karen Duggan’s shot from outside the box, Leitrim native Beirne was on hand to sweep home the rebound with less than four minutes on the clock.

This was a perfect tonic for Peamount and it took a low save by Anastasiadis to deny Beirne a second off a Rebecca Watkins pullback just shy of the first-quarter mark.

Peamount still found themselves a goal in front at the interval, but their lead was wiped out within two minutes of the resumption when Lojna volleyed home off a lofted ball into the area by Maja Joscak.

This was a setback for James O’Callaghan’s side and they were subsequently facing into a deficit on the stroke of 50 minutes. Niamh Reid-Burke’s miscued pass out of defence fell at the feet of Petkovic and the Osijek substitute delicately chipped the opposition netminder in clinical fashion.

This suddenly left Peas in a position where they had to chase the game and while team skipper Duggan had a close-range shot tipped on to the post by Anastasiadis in the 71st minute, Osijek ultimately held on to progress to the Women’s Champions League second qualifying round.

OSIJEK: Anastasiadis; Bulut, Nevrkla, Cox, Garcia (Kirilenko, 13); Porter, Joscak, Lubina (Petkovic, 37); Lojna, Balic (Andrlic, 78), Zivkovic.

PEAMOUNT UNITED: Reid-Burke; O’Callaghan, Berrill, Moloney, McCartan; Fitzgerald, Farrelly (Healy, 87), Duggan; Watkins, Dolan, Beirne (Letmon, 71).

Referee: E Nurmustafina (Kazakhstan).