Bordeaux's European adventure begins [2-1]

Having won the first leg 1-0, the priority for the Girondins was to "get the job done tonight," as Gus Poyet put it in his press conference. And that's exactly what they did, despite a late wobble. The Girondins totally controlled the first hour of the game. In the first few minutes, François Kamano got Bordeaux off to a perfect start when he connected with a beautiful delivery from Jaroslav Plasil to smash home a left-footed volley (1-0, 9’). Bordeaux continued to dominate, with new chances for Nicolas De Préville (23’) and Zaydou Youssouf, the latter rattling the woodwork (37’). Ventspils created a few attacking opportunities, but never truly threatened. With a solid back line and Jaroslav Plasil on imperial form in midfield, the Girondins were clearly the better side. They continued to dominate in the second half, and when Zaydou Youssouf's corner found Pablo at the back post the Brazilian headed down for Jules Koundé to double the lead (2-0, 48’). François Kamano (57’) and Aurélien Tchouaméni (58’) both had good chances to make it 3-0, but fell just short. And that's when things got complicated. With half hour left to play and a comfortable lead, the Girondins started to back off. The physical toll of the intensive pre-season training began to show, and the Latvians pounced on the opportunity. Akinyemi muscled his way past Igor Lewczuk and slotted past Benoît Costil with a cool finish (2-1, 66’). The 15,863 Bordeaux fans braving the summer heat urged on the Girondins with all their might, but Ventspils were suddenly a real threat. Akinyemi (69’), Pedro Mendes (77’) and Tosin (80’) all game close to levelling the scores, with Zaydou Youssouf (75’), Otavio (90’+1) and Gaëtan Laborde (90’+3) missing chances at the other end. But ultimately there would be no more goals, and the game ended in a 2-1 victory for the Girondins. Despite a tough two-leg tie against solid opposition, Poyet's men got the job done and sealed qualification for the next round - a trip to Odessa this Thursday, followed by a return leg at the Matmut ATLANTIQUE on 16th August.