Greek clubs excel in UEFA Cup By Peter Auf der Heyde

dpa German Press Agency Published: Thursday October 4, 2007

By Peter Auf der Heyde,
Hamburg- Greek clubs on Thursday excelled in the UEFA Cup
as all four Greek clubs involved in first round return leg matches
advanced to the lucrative group phase of the competition.
To make their progress into the next round even more remarkable is
that they all lost their return leg fixtures, but still advanced.

Premiership club Blackburn Rovers came from behind to beat Larissa
2-1 in England, but it was not enough as Mark Hughes' team lost the
first leg in Greece 2-0.

Brazilian Cleyton opened the scoring for the visitors in the 13th
minute with a well-taken goal that left Rovers with a mountain to
climb as they needed four goals to advance.

They managed to pull one back just before the break when Matt
Derbyshire scored from the spot after the Greek goalkeeper Elias
Kotsolis brought down David Dunn.

Rovers' fans were hoping for a miracle after Stephen Warnock gave
them a 2-1 lead just six minutes after the restart, but even though
they pushed men forward in search of two more goals, Larissa's
defence stood firm to give them a 3-2 aggregate victory.

Ghanaian Bennard Yao Kumordzi scored an own goal in the 53rd
minute giving Sochaux a 1-0 victory in Athens against Panionios, but
the Greek club advance 2-1 on aggregate.

Vratislav Lokvenc gave big-spending Austrian club Red Bull
Salzburg a 1-0 victory against AEK Athens, but the 3-0 victory in the
first round was more than enough to give the Greek club a 3-1
aggregate win.

The final Greek club to advance Thursday was Aris Saloniki, who
lost 2-1 at Real Zaragoza, but went through on the away goal rule,
having not conceded a goal in their 1-0 victory in the first leg.

The four clubs were joined in the next round by Panathinaikos
Athens, who beat Artmedia Bratislava 3-0 on Tuesday to advance 5-1 on
aggregate.

The German Bundesliga, who have not enjoyed a lot of success in
the Champions League this season, did much better in the UEFA Cup on
Thursday, with all four clubs advancing.

Bayern Munich added a 2-0 victory to their 1-0 win from the first
leg, while Bayer Leverkusen lost 3-2 at Leiria, but still went
through 5-4 on aggregate.

SV Hamburg, who beat Bulgarian club Litex 1-0 away, added a 3-1
come-back victory on the night for a 4-1 aggregate win.

Robert Popov opened the scoring for the visitors late in the first
half, but Peruvian international Paolo Guerrero equalized just two
minutes later with a spectacular overhead kick.

He added a second shortly after the restart before captain Rafael
van der Vaart put matters beyond doubt with a third goal for the home
side in the 72nd minute.

German cup winners Nuremberg drew 2-2 at Rapid Bucharest to
advance on the away goal rule.

Struggling Premiership club Tottenham Hotspur, who had already
done enough in the first leg against Cyprus club Anorthosis Famagusta
after winning 6-1, needed a late Robbie Keane goal to snatch a 1-1
draw in Cyprus.

Other Premiership clubs through on the night were Everton, who won
3-2 at Metalist Kharkiv and Bolton Wanderers who beat Rabotniki 1-0
for a 2-1 aggregate.

It was not a good night for Serie A clubs as Palermo were knocked
out on penalties after slumping to a 1-0 home defeat against Mlada
Boleslav, Empoli went out at the expense of Swiss club Zurich and
Sampdoria were knocked out on the away goal rule by Aalborg.

The only Serie A club through was Fiorentina who won 4-3 on
penalties after drawing 1-1 with Groningen.

Three Spanish clubs advanced to the group phase. Atletico Madrid
had the biggest aggregate victory after beating Kayseri Erciyesspor
5-0 in Turkey for a 9-0 aggregate win, while Villarreal beat BATE
Borisov 2-0 to go through 6-1 on aggregate and Getafe, who advanced
on the away goal rule after losing 3-2 at Twente Enschede.

Former European Champions' Cup winners Ajax, who were in the
driving scene after having won the first leg game 1-0 in Croatia were
stunned 3-2 at home by Dinamo Zagreb and went out on the away goal
rule.

Mario Mandzukic was the hero for the Croatian side as he scored
two goals in extra time to give the visitors a 3-0 lead. Although Jan
Klaas Huntelaar pulled back two, it was not enough to see Ajax
through.


© 2006 - dpa German Press Agency

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