Astana Is Born

Astana beat Manchester United 2-1 in a Europa League shocker... United were well on top in the first half; with their team of youngsters flying all over the place; passing and moving with impressive aplomb. Deservedly, they took the lead midway through Jesse Lingard's long-range shot; who together with Luke Shaw were just about the only veterans in the team.

In the second half, it looked about the same; as there seemed no way for Astana to get back in the game. Shaw then provided some jinking magic on the left flank; before crossing the ball invitingly; only for Tahith Chong to miss a sitter with the goal at his mercy.

That proved to be the turning point; as lo and behold; Astana created the impossible and actually scored the equaliser; with left-back Dmitri Shomko receiving an inside ball and firing a superb shot inside the far corner beating Lee Grant in the United goal. Suddenly the whole game changed; as the Astana players were suddenly filled with conviction and belief; biting into the challenge and basically making a fist out of it. The vociferous crowd also grew louder & louder as the time went by.

And then the unthinkable happened. With Astana growing in belief; they managed to create space down the right flank for right-back Antonio Rukavina; whose driven cross was inadvertently deflected off Di'Shon Bernard's chest and off the post for an own goal. The match had completely turned now; with Astana growing in confidence and their fans looking on with dis-believing eyes.

Try as they might; United could not get back into it; as Astana were now content to sit deep and soak up the pressure. Their goalkeeper Nenad Eric made a couple of sublime saves; first from Angel Gomes' lovely free-kick; then an absolute show-stopper to keep out Mason Greenwood's left-foot volley. They even found space to break up-front on the counter-attack on a couple of occasions; with Runar Sigurjonsson firing just wide on a particularly lovely sequence.

In the end; the Astana players celebrated like they had won the Europa League. It was indeed an amazing come-from-behind victory that they will remember for all of their history.