FC Twente secured their passage to the Conference League group stage on Thursday with a dramatic 4-2 aggregate victory over Qarabag, overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit through extra-time heroics in Baku. Moroccan winger Younes Taha proved decisive in the comeback, scoring the clinching goal in the 114th minute after the Dutch side had clawed back from 1-0 down in normal time.
Taha seals Twente’s comeback from the spot
Qarabag appeared to have steered the tie toward extra time when Kady broke the deadlock in the 59th minute, putting pressure squarely on Twente’s shoulders. The visitors’ response came through Marko Pjaca’s leveller in the 79th minute, followed by a fortuitous finish: Taha’s cross deflected off a Qarabag defender into the path of Max Bruns, who finished in the 90+2 minute to force the additional period.
Wout Weghorst extended Twente’s advantage just four minutes into extra time with a clinical finish in the 94th minute. The decisive moment arrived twenty minutes later when Taha capitalised on a goalkeeper error, recovering possession before converting from a narrow angle to seal a 4-2 second-leg triumph and send the Dutch outfit through.
How Taha’s performance exemplifies Twente’s resilience
The 23-year-old’s involvement transcended his two goals. Deployed from the start, Taha operated with intensity throughout, contributing to buildup play and defensive transitions in a match that demanded precision and stamina. His alertness in the 114th minute—recognising and punishing the goalkeeper’s misstep—reflected game awareness beyond raw finishing ability. Scoring his first goal of the European campaign on such a stage suggested he is developing into a clutch performer when Twente’s survival is at stake. The winger’s combination of work rate and technical execution proved essential to engineering a turnaround that saw the Dutch side recover from a losing position across two legs to progress.
Twente now advance to the group stage of the Conference League, where they will face stronger opponents in a conventional format. Taha’s display in Baku demonstrated he possesses the composure and instinct required to compete at this level—qualities that will be tested further as the competition enters its next phase.
