published: thursday 28 november 2013, 21.14cet trabzonspor aş 4-2 apollon limassol fc
olcan adın's hat-trick ensured that trabzonspor saw off a late comeback from the visitors to secure a place in the round of 32.
trabzonspor aş sealed their place in the last 32 of the uefa europa league and maintained their unbeaten record in group j after olcan adin's hat-trick helped the turkish side to a 4-2 victory against apollon limassol fc, whose chances of the reaching the knockout stage ended with defeat.
chances were few in the early stages, but the turkish side were clinical when they eventually got going, as olcan adın and soner aydoğdu scored in quick succession midway through the first half. olcan increased their lead in the 61st minute, before guie gneki abraham netted for the visitors. an 80th minute penalty from gaston sangoy threatened a comeback, until olcan rounded off his hat-trick with a fine free-kick.
apollon struggled to live with trabzonspor's slick passing from the off, as mustafa akçay’s side dominated the first half. florent malouda looked bright on the left, and it was the former french international who provided the cross for olcan to head in the opener. the hosts doubled their lead before apollon had a chance to get their breath back, scoring three minutes later after soner aydoğdu bundled the ball in.
olcan extended the home side's advantage by firing into the roof of the net on 61 minutes, which bizarrely sparked apollon in to life. abraham's 68th-minute header spurred the cypriot team on, before winning a penalty 12 minutes later, which was scored by sangoy to make the hosts sweat. olcan eased their nerves three minutes later by converting a brilliant free-kick.
trabzonspor lead group j by two points, and will battle ss lazio for top spot when the two sides meet on the final matchday, after the ıtalian side beat legia warszawa 2-0.
