ROME :Nikita Haikin made the vital save as Bodo/Glimt pulled off a stunning penalty shoot-out win away to Lazio on Thursday to become the first Norwegian team to reach the semi-finals of the Europa League, where they will face Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.
Lazio appeared to have done all they needed to, overturning the two-goal deficit from the first leg to take a 3-0 lead on the night, but a sucker-punch goal in extra time from Andreas Helmersen sent the tie to penalties, where Haikin became the hero.
Lazio had taken the lead in the 21st minute through an exquisite flick from Taty Castellanos and that set the tone for what was to come, with the Italian side dominating and the visitors floundering for much of the game, unable to keep up with the slick passing of the Italians.
However, it took until second-half stoppage time for Tijani Noslin to squeeze in their second goal to make it 2-2 on aggregate and send the tie to extra time, with Boulaye Dia heading home to put Lazio 3-2 up on aggregate 10 minutes into the first period.
Then came Helmersen’s decisive cameo appearance. After missing a sitter in second-half stoppage time, just before Noslin’s goal, he scored with a powerful downward header to level the aggregate score at 3-3, throwing the club a scarcely believable lifeline.
Helmersen’s all-action contribution saw him receive a second yellow card in the dying minutes as the tie headed to penalties after a nerve-jangling encounter.
Things looked bleak for the Norwegians when Jens Petter Hauge saw his spot kick saved and Dia scored, but up stepped their well-travelled goalkeeper Haikin, an Israeli-born Russian who spent much of his teenage years in London.
He saved from Loum Tchaouna and watched as Noslin fired wide and, with Bodo scoring their next three kicks, the stage was set for Patrick Berg, whose family is synonymous with the Norwegian club, to win it with their fifth penalty.
There was to be one last twist before the fairytale ending, with Berg blazing his effort high over the bar and Haikin called upon once more.
He cemented his hero status by saving Castellanos’s effort for a 3-2 win in the shoot-out that made them the first Norwegian side to reach the last four of a major European competition, prompting wild celebrations among the travelling fans, as well as those at home inside the Arctic Circle.
