In the first leg of UEFA Europa League 3rd Round played last night, the Eagles drew 1-1 away to Viktoria Plzen of Czech Republic with Carlos Delgado scoring the only goal of Beşiktaş through a penalty one minute before half time.

The match refereed by Carlos Clos Gomez of Spanish Football Federation took place at the Letna Stadium of Czech Republic, and a vocal group of expatriate Beşiktaş fans cheered the Eagles on from start to finish.
The Black and White, featuring the newly signed Portuguese Quaresma and German Hilbert together for the first time on their line-up, struggled real bad in the early going and withstood numerous Plezen attacks initiated from both flanks. Beşiktaş goalkeeper Hakan Arıkan, who had an outstanding day in the net, had to pull off save after save to keep the home side from getting on the scoresheet.  The Eagles finally gave in to pressure when Limbersky found the net with long-range effort from outside box on 28 minutes, 1-0 for Plezen. Despite the goal that sent the home fans into frenzy, Beşiktaş managed to regroup quickly and started knocking on the Czechs’ door more often. After Quaresma was brought down inside the box at the 44-minute mark, Delgado converted the ensuing penalty and brought the teams on level terms at half-time.
To gain control of midfield, Beşiktaş started the second half with young midfielder Necip Uysal coming on for forward Nihat Kahveci, and the substitution paid in a big way as the match suddenly swung into the Eagles’ favour, forcing Plezen to remain mostly in their own half. The Black and White took complete command after Tabata and Bobo replaced Hilbert and Nobre and created some clear-cut chances late in the game but failed to capitalize on them. The teams cancelled each other with a 1-1 draw in the end with Beşiktaş carrying a significant advantage into the second leg.
The second leg is going to be played at Beşiktaş Inonu Stadium in Istanbul on Thursday August 5 at 9:00 pm local time. The qualifier of this round will contest a playoff match to become eligible for the Europa League.