For the first hour, Cercle matched Jagiellonia stride for stride, but Abu Francis' red card turned the tide completely. The home side capitalized on their numerical advantage – with a bit of luck – to cruise to a 3-0 victory. Cercle will need a miracle next Thursday at the Jan Breydel Stadium to keep their European adventure alive.

Balanced first half in a Polish cauldron

Bialystok’s stadium is one to envy in Belgium. Unfortunately, the pitch was not up to the same standard, resembling some of the rougher surfaces in the Jupiler Pro League. On this bumpy field, both teams went all out from the start. Playmaker Imaz had the first big chance but failed to hit the target.

Cercle had a slight edge in possession, and Alan Minda forced home goalkeeper Abramowicz into an early save. The same Abramowicz later denied Edgaras Utkus with a superb reflex stop, while Maxime Delanghe was also called into action multiple times at the other end.

Just before halftime, Diakité made a crucial last-ditch intervention to keep Cercle in the game.

(Read more below the photo.)

Ten-man Cercle sinks in second half

Substitute Ravych was unlucky early in the second half, deflecting a ball into the path of Villar, whose powerful strike was spectacularly kept out by Maxime Delanghe. Moments later, Felipe Augusto tried his luck but failed to connect cleanly with his shot.

Abu Francis, already booked in the first half, had been walking a fine line and finally committed a second bookable offense around the hour mark. The Greek referee showed no leniency, leaving Cercle with ten men.

This was the turning point of the game. Cercle was forced onto the back foot and couldn’t hold out for long. A long-range effort from Moutinho struck Efekele’s hand, and the referee wasted no time in awarding a penalty. Pululu confidently slotted it home.

Without playing spectacular football, the home team soon doubled their lead—again with a slice of luck. Romanczuk’s shot took a heavy deflection off the unfortunate Ravych and found the net.

Cercle kept pushing forward despite the adversity, and Felipe Augusto came close to pulling one back, forcing Abramowicz into a stunning save from a powerful header. But their night went from bad to worse when Utkus’ weak clearance fell to Pululu, who sealed the 3-0 scoreline with a brilliant overhead kick. The Angolan striker remains the Conference League’s top scorer.

In stoppage time, Cercle almost conceded a fourth goal, but Silva’s shot hit the post, marking the final action of the match.

Line-ups:

Jagiellonia Bialystok: Abramowicz, Wojtuszek (11’ Stojinovic), Skrzypczak, Ebosse, Moutinho,
Kubicki (85’ Silva), Flach (62’ Romanczuk), Imaz, Churlinov (62’ Hansen), Villar (85’ Pietuszewski) en Pululu

Cercle Brugge: Delanghe, Diakité, Utkus, Perrin (46’ Ravych), Efekele, Agyekum (76’ De Wilde), Francis, Nazinho (68’ Magnée), Somers, Minda (68’ Nunes) en Augusto (85’ Brunner)

Goals:

Pululu (70’), Romanczuk (75’) en Pululu (79’)

Yellow cards:

Francis (24’), Flach (’40), Francis (’59) en Villar (’63)

Red card:

Francis (’59)