Aris Limassol beat BATE Borisov 6-2 for the 2nd Qualifying Round of the UEFA Champions League and put one foot in the 3rd round.
The match took place at the new AlphaMega Stadium, in Limassol. Alexei Spilesfki’s team could have secured the qualification early, after leading 3-0 in the first half, but BATE from Belarus scored twice in the second half and got back in the game.
However, Aris scored three more goals in the second half and achieved a big advantage for the second game that will take place next week in Hungary.
Cypriot champions Aris have all but ensured their qualification in the group stages of a European competition for the first time in their history, after an emphatic 6-2 victory over the Belarusian outfit FC BATE Borisov on Wednesday evening in Limassol for the second qualifying round of the Champions League.
Aleksey Shpilevsky’s side took the lead with a penalty from Yannick Gomis in the 17th minute with a goal by Leo Bengtsson who fired a shot just in the box.and an own goal by BATE’s centre-half Sidi Bane.

BATE managed to snatch an early goal at the beginning of the second half through Kontsevoy in the 48th minute giving the away team hope but Aris continued the rout with a fourth goal from Gomis in the 60th minute giving him a brace with a headed goal from a well taken free kick from the left.

BATE’s centre-half Ruslan Khadarkevich made it 4-2 after a corner kick in the 66th minute, giving his team newfound hope for the second leg in Belarus, however, Aris quickly reasserted their dominance – this time for good – with goals by Montnor in the 83rd minute with a stunning shot just inside the box and Stepinski with a penalty in added time.

The final 6-2 score means they have a very good chance of winning the away leg and as the winners of the second qualifying round of the Champions League they are assured a spot in the Europa Conference League groups.
Aris will hopefully become the seventh team from Cyprus to play in a European group after Apoel, Anorthosis, Ael, Omonia, Apollon and Aek Larnaca.
In the previous game Aris won the first competitive game of the season in Cyprus winning the Super Cup the match played between the Champions Aris against the Cup winners Omonia at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia with Aris winning 2-0 their goals coming in the 21st minute through Michail Mayambela and in added time from Manusz Stepinski.