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Trabzonspor beat KuPS Kuopio 4-2 in a UEFA Conference League league phase match in Tampere on Thursday, with Franculino Dju scoring twice and goalkeeper Andre Onana saving a second-half penalty that kept the Turkish side’s lead intact.
The game was played at Tammelan Stadion, with a 7:45 p.m. start. Trabzonspor led 2-0 at halftime and 3-0 shortly after the restart, before KuPS pulled a goal back and later added a second in stoppage time.
Trabzonspor took the lead in the third minute when Paul Onuachu shot from the centre of the box into the bottom right corner, set up by Mohamed Salah.
Onuachu’s night ended soon after. Play was held up in the sixth minute because of an injury to the forward, and he was replaced by Dju in the 10th minute.
Salah then doubled the lead in the 44th minute, striking a left-footed shot from the right side of the box into the top left corner.
KuPS had briefly threatened before the break, with goalkeeper Andre Onana saving efforts from Bob Armah in the 42nd minute and Samuel Pasanen in stoppage time of the first half.
Dju added a third just two minutes into the second half, finishing from very close range.
The goal was confirmed after a VAR review. KuPS responded in the 54th minute, when Petteri Pennanen sent a right-footed shot from a difficult angle on the left into the top right corner following a corner, making it 3-1.
The match could have tightened further in the 58th minute, when Trabzonspor defender Samet Akaydin conceded a penalty for handball in the area.
Piotr Parzyszek took it for KuPS, but Onana saved his right-footed effort in the bottom left corner. Onana also denied Parzyszek and Gustav Engvall in the 69th minute, and saved a long-range effort from Jaime Moreno in the 75th.
Trabzonspor made a series of changes in the 55th minute, bringing on Noah Saviolo, Fabinho and Tim Jabol-Folcarelli, and later introduced Ernest Muci.
KuPS also rotated its attack, using Engvall, Ayman Aiki, Moreno and others off the bench.
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With six minutes of added time announced, Dju completed his brace in the 91st minute, shooting from very close range after an assist from Muci to make it 4-1.
KuPS had the final word in the 96th minute, when Engvall fired a right-footed shot from the centre of the box into the bottom left corner to set the final score at 4-2.
Both sides were cautioned during a physical contest. Trabzonspor’s Akaydin and Batista Mendy were shown yellow cards, as were KuPS players Julius Eskesen, Parzyszek and Kasim Adams.
Trabzonspor, based on Türkiye’s Black Sea coast, was playing in the league phase of the Conference League, UEFA’s third-tier European club competition, against the Finnish club from Kuopio.
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