Sarajevo, Aug 3 (IANS) Italian football club Atalanta crushed Sarajevo with a goal-storm (8-0) in an away game as they advanced to the third stage of UEFA Europa League qualifications.
The match on Thursday started with a short-lived hope of the home fans that their Sarajevo, 3rd-ranked in the BiH Premier League, will build upon the good result from the first game in Italy (2-2), reports Xinhua news agency.
Atalanta crushed their dreams as early as the 4th minute, with the score of Jose Luis Palomino, a defensive player that picked up the ball after a corner kick for the guest team, and beat Sarajevo's goalkeeper Bojan Pavlovic.
Just 11 minutes later, Alejandro Dario Gomez scored a goal from a distance of more than 20 meters, and Andrea Masiello increased the lead further in the 18th minute from a free kick.
Although the victory seemed certain for Atalanta, the team kept attacking and in the 28th minute Gomez scored with another powerful shot from distance -- Atalanta's fourth goal.
The fifth goal, in the 38th minute, was the work of Mersudin Ahmetovic (own goal), who diverted the ball after Masiello's attempt on goal.
Musa Barrow achieved Atalanta's 6th goal in the 51st minute, after a long pass by Hans Hateboer. Just 19 minutes later Barrow scored again resolving a dangerous situation in front of Sarajevo's goal.
Barrow sealed his hat-trick in the 87th minute, achieving Atlanta's 8th goal.
Throughout the match Atalanta had four times more accurate passes than Sarajevo, and kept the ball in its possession 75 per cent of the time, achieving a well-deserved victory in the end.
