Having lost the first leg at the Oval a week ago, Glentoran arrived in Poltova in the eastern Ukraine without Colin Nixon, Andy Waterworth, Sean Ward, Richard Clarke, Ciaran Martyn & Aidan O’Kane. With temperatures in the low 30’s it was going to require something of a minor miracle if Glentoran were to make it through to the third qualifying round of the 2011-12 Europa League.

Scott Young’s team selection for the game saw Elliott Morris return in goal following suspension and be given the captain’s armband. Three of the back four from the first leg retained their places; Johnny Taylor, also coming back from suspension, replaced Ciaran Martyn. In midfield Jimmy Callacher was back in midfield after recovering from a broken toe and alongside him were Jim O’Hanlon, Kyle Cherry, Stephen Carson and debutant, Matthew Johnston. Darren Boyce played the lone striker role.

It was 8pm local time and 32 deg. C when the match got underway. With 2 minutes gone Vorskla were awarded a free kick on the left side of Glentoran’s 18-yard box. Markoski swung the ball in and Rebenok looked to have put the hosts in front, only to be denied by a magnificent save from Elliott Morris. Glentoran’s first attack (8 mins) saw Stephen Carson win a corner. Carson took the kick himself and found the head of Johnny Taylor but his effort went wide of goal. On 10 minutes Oberemko picked up the first yellow card of the game from the Slovakian referee following a foul on Kyle Cherry. Vorskla’s number 9, Rebenok found himself in space in the box (12) but dragged his effort wide of the post. Januzi then went close twice in the space of a minute, firstly when Markoski flicked on a cross (14) and Januzi’s header went wide and then again (15) another header failed to trouble Morris. A long range effort from Oberemko (19) also failed to hit the target. Jim O’Hanlon did well on 22 minutes to win a corner on the right. Again Carson swung it in but the home side quickly cleared the ball and looked to be breaking away when a foul by Cherry brought the game to a halt; Cherry picking up a yellow card for the challenge. On 25 minutes Jimmy Callacher was caught in possession and Vorskla broke down the left. David Howland was alert to the danger though and got across to concede a corner. 2 minutes later Morris produced a fantastic double save denying Januzi and then Kryvosheyenko. On the half hour mark Jim O’Hanlon did really well on the right but his cross just eluded Darren Boyce. At this point the referee stopped the game to allow players from both teams to take on water. Although it was necessary the disruption seemed to break the concentration of the Glentoran players and within 5 minutes of the restart we were 2 down. A ball into the box was met by Januzi and although the initial effort on goal was blocked, Januzi scored at the second attempt with Morris unsighted. The second came from a corner. The set piece was met by Januzi and his header rebounded off the crossbar only for Kurilov to nod home from inside the 6-yard box. 3 minutes later it was almost 3-nil but Dalku’s attempt just cleared the bar. Markoski had another chance from a 20-yard free kick (44) but again Morris was equal to the task. In the 3 added minutes Jim O’Hanlon had a chance but his effort was well over.

It was still 30 deg. C when the second half kicked off. Januzi had the first opportunity on 47 minutes but again Morris denied him. Vovkodav failed to hit the target (56) and Morris again had to be at his best to dent Januzi after he’d been put clear by a lovely through ball from Rebenok. The game then went through a quiet 15 minutes with both sides making changes and the temperature finally falling below 30. Januzi wrapped up the scoring on 74 minutes when he got on the end of a right wing cross and headed home from 6-yards. With 5 minutes remaining he almost grabbed his hattrick but again Morris was magnificent. Kyle Cherry had to leave the field in stoppage time, suffering from cramp for the second time in the last quarter of an hour. He, like all the Glentoran players, had put in a remarkable shift in keeping the score, against a full time professional outfit, very respectful.

FT. Vorskla 3-0 Glentoran (agg. 5-0)

Glentoran: Morris (capt), McGovern, Hill, Cherry, Taylor, Callacher, O’Hanlon, Howland, Johnston, Boyce & Carson.

Subs: McGuigan for Callacher (29), Murray for O’Hanlon (63) and Beggs for Johnston (70). Unused: Hogg, Birney & Davison.

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