By Sulayman Bah
Winger Demba Savage is a match shy of attaining his biggest 
career achievement –to qualify to Europa League group stage.
Savage and his Finnish Champions HJK came from behind to do just what they thought of Austria Bundesliga giants Rapid Wien -beating them in Helsinki 2-1 in the first-leg.
The second –leg is billed for this Thursday in Austria for the final leg of the play-off. Despite the defeat, Rapid holds an advantage with their away goal.
Demba Savage is on the brink of becoming Gambia’s first international in recent years to feature in the Europa League group stage which could undoubtedly become his biggest career highlight aside from winning the Finnish league title on back-to-back.
The last time a Gambian player hit the Europe big stage was in 2010 when Spaghetti-legged MomodouCeesay’s over-head improbable effort nestled to the back of the net to spur then Slovakian champions MSK Zilina to the Uefa Champions League group stage.
25-year-old Demba could match such a feat albeit the Europa League being only a step below the CL, but first the winger and team-mates must ensure they secure all points – a task dubbed daunting but doable.]]>
