Braga secured a place in the last 16 of the Europa League after coming from behind twice to seal a 2-2 draw (4-3 win on aggregate) over Sion at the Estadio Municipal de Braga on Wednesday evening.
The breakthrough was made in the 16th minute when Sion's Theofanis Gekas sent the ball into the back of the net with the back of his heel after latching on to Ebenezer Assifuah's pass.
Eleven minutes later, though, Assifuah was penalised for committing a foul in the box and Josue managed to send goalkeeper Andris Vanins the wrong way before firing the ball through the middle from the penalty spot.
Braga resumed their lead on aggregate, but they could not celebrate for long as three minutes later Gekas nabbed a second goal by drilling the ball to the inside of the right post after connecting for the rebound.
The hosts tried to respond immediately through Josue, who found space on the edge of the penalty area before unleashing a shot towards the bottom left corner, but the keeper pulled off a save.
At the other end, Edmilson Fernandes came close with a 20-yard effort, but his attempt fell just wide of the left post.
Three minutes after the restart, Braga managed to take the overall lead once again when Rafa Silva laid the ball off to Nikola Stojiljkovic, who managed to get past the keeper from close range.
Both sides had opportunities to score again, but the home team managed to hold on to ensure their place in the next round.
Danielle Joynson
