​Incredible comeback takes us into play-offsTabakovic the hat-trick heroThe evening was not one for the faint hearted! Our Red Bulls have advanced to the UEFA Europa League play-offs after a spectacular comeback. In a real battle in the heat at Pafos, our lads showed tremendous fighting spirit in the second half, turning a 0-2 deficit around and rewarding themselves with a 3-3 draw, which secured our place in the next round with a 4-3 aggregate win.Match summaryKick-off – from the rain to the heatAfter the damp conditions in the first leg, our lads faced a real battle against the heat in the return leg. Nevertheless, we got off to an almost perfect start: just seconds in, Bartosz Mazurek finished off a beautiful passing move, but failed to convert his one-on-one chance against Pafos goalkeeper Majecki15′ – behind early in CyprusOverall, the home side had the more dominant opening phase. After a quarter of an hour, Pafos FC ruthlessly exploited the space afforded by a switch of play: Lele headed home a perfectly placed cross to give the hosts the lead31′ & 37′ – lack of clinical touch and another blowIt wasn’t until half an hour had passed that our team showed any signs of life, but a dangerous cross from Kitano found no takers in the penalty area. Although we subsequently enjoyed more possession and made the game more balanced, we lacked the final touch. In the 37th minute, the next setback came: Teixeira’s free-kick from the side sailed past everyone and into the net. We went into the break trailing 0-254′ & 58′ – double strike brings us right back into itThe reward for the courageous performance and our efforts after the break came in the 54th minute. After a great dribble by Damir Redzic, Haris Tabakovic followed up energetically and fired the ball into the net to pull one back. Our lads gained new confidence and added another goal shortly afterward. A handball by Pafos defender Goldar in the penalty area led to a penalty kick. Tabakovic stepped up, kept his cool, and made it 2-262′ and 85′ – Tabakovic hat-trick and a nervy endThe Cypriots subsequently increased the pressure, but our defence cleared everything in front of them. In the 70th minute, our marksman struck again. After good work by Vertessen, a cleared ball landed at the feet of Edmund Baidoo, whose deflected shot fell to Tabakovic. With unwavering conviction, he fired the ball into the net for his hat-trick.Despite a superb double save by Christian Zawieschitzky (77′), the hosts refused to give up. In the 84th minute, Mammadov unleashed an unstoppable curling shot from the right wing into the far corner to level the score at 3-3 and give Pafos renewed hope. With a concerted effort, we managed to secure the draw and ultimately the 4-3 aggregate victory.By advancing, our Red Bulls have secured their place in the UEFA Europa League play-offs (and are therefore guaranteed to play in a European league phase in 2026/27). The play-off takes us this coming Thursday int