Basel limber up for Guimarães hurdle

'Great determination'
"This was a fantastic night of European Cup football," said the Basel coach after seeing his charges edge past IFK Göteborg, 5-3 on aggregate. "My team fell behind twice but showed great determination against a Swedish side in good shape. It's not easy playing against such well-organised opposition."

On the spot
Indeed, having gone into the game at St. Jakob-Park after a 1-1 first-leg draw, Basel were heading out of the competition until six minutes from time when Ivan Ergić finally edged them in front from the penalty spot. "I admit that I did think what it would mean to the team if I failed to convert that penalty," said Ergić, who sealed progress in added time. "I felt the pressure. But I am an experienced player and I tried to place the ball. The goal was the result of the whole team's work."

Big step
Ergić and Basel will now prepare to meet Vitória SC in the third qualifying round, starting in northern Portugal next week. For Göteborg, they must focus solely on their domestic campaign, and while their coach Stefan Rehn admits to being "very disappointed", Gross is adamant Basel deserved to progress. "Out of the four halves, we dominated three," he said. "We deserved to go through because we were the more positive team. Göteborg were a high hurdle – Guimarães will be an even higher one."