Special Broadcasting Service, Australia
July 15 2005
Minnows kick off UEFA Cup
PA Sport
Mika’s Hrachya Mikaelyan (right) leaps over Mainz’s Mathias Abel
(left)
Cork took a giant step towards the next round of the UEFA Cup by
beating FK Ekranas 2-0 in the opening leg of their first qualifying
round fixture.
Cork’s Lithuanian hosts went down to goals from Roy O’Donovan after
25 minutes and George O’Callaghan on 89 minutes, leaving them with a
difficult trip to Ireland for the second leg.
In Armenia, Lokomotiv Tbilisi survived a late comeback from hosts
Banants Yerevan to hang on for a 3-2 away victory.
George Alaverdashvili opened the scoring after 40 minutes for the
visitors with Lasha Kebadze doubling the advantage four minutes after
the break.
Roin Oniani’s 53rd-minute goal then proved crucial in sealing the win
for the Georgians, as Banants rallied late on.
Aram Hakobian and Tigran Kharabakhtsyan scored for the Armenians in
the last 10 minutes but it was not quite enough to overturn the
three-goal deficit.
Slovakia’s Corgon Liga runners-up MSK Zilina suffered an unsuccessful
trip to Azerbaijan, where they went down 1-0 to Karat Baku, who had
Jeykhun Sultanov to thank for their goal 11 minutes before time.
BATE Borisov of Belarus had no such problems on their visit to
Georgia, where a 27th-minute penalty from defender Aleksei Baga was
enough to secure victory over Torpedo Kutaisi.
AC Allianssi also have one foot in the second round after hammering
Luxembourg’s CS Petange 3-0 in the Finnish leg of their first round
clash.
First half goals from Justus Vajanne after 34 minutes and Christopher
Cleaver on 41 minutes, followed by Jon Poulsen’s 85th minute strike
ensured a straightforward home victory for the Finns.
Fellow Finnish outfit MyPa are also well placed to progress, after
they secured a 1-1 away draw against TVMK Tallinn in Estonia.
Tallinn led after 32 minutes thanks to Ingemar Teever’s effort but
Tuomas Kuparainen’s 78th-minute finish gave the visitors a draw and a
crucial away goal.
Albanian side KS Teuta enjoyed an encouraging start to their campaign
as they beat Siroki Brijeg of Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-1.
Two goals from Bledar Mancaku and one from Daniel Xhafa for Teuta
were enough to ensure that Domagoj Abramovic’s 81st-minute effort was
only a consolation for Brijeg.
Moldova’s FC Nistru Otaci eased to a 3-1 win over Khazar Lenkoran to
leave themselves looking good ahead of the second leg in Azerbaijan.
Goals from Andrei Matiura, Florin Pancovici and Alexandr Blajco all
but ended Lenkoran’s UEFA Cup hopes, although Zaur Ramazanov’s strike
could prove to be a lifeline.
Meanwhile, Macedonian outfit Bashkimi and Zepce Limorad of
Bosnia-Herzegovina played out a goalless draw.
Eztella Ettelbruck of Luxembourg had their European dreams torn apart
by one player as Hordur Sveinsson’s four-goal haul gave Keflavik of
Iceland a 4-0 victory.
The 22-year-old striker scored after 17 minutes before going on the
rampage and completing a second-half hat-trick to give his side a
great advantage.
A Daniel Niculae hat-trick inspired Rapid Bucharest to a 5-0 win over
tournament debutants UE Sant Julia of Andorra.
Ciprian Vasilache also bagged a brace as Rapid put the tie all-but
beyond their opponents ahead of the second leg in Bucharest.
Meanwhile, Omonia Nicosia of Cyprus won 3-0 at home to Hibernians
Paola of Malta.
Musawengosi Mguni put the home side ahead and Jozef Kozlej added a
second before a George Vakouftsis penalty sealed the win.
Esbjerg, who qualified for the competition in a fair-play place,
suffered a 2-1 home defeat to FC Flora Tallinn but remain hopeful
after Fredrik Berglund’s last-minute goal kept them in the tie.
The Estonians scored twice inside two minutes during the second half
through Tomas Sirevicius and Andrei Sidorenkov, but will rue their
late lapse that allowed the home side to narrow the deficit.
Albanian outfit Elbasan face a difficult trip to FYR Macedonia for
the second leg of their tie with FK Vardar, which is poised at 1-1.
Klodian Asllani’s goal put the hosts ahead in the first half, but
teenager Ivan Trickovski fired a crucial away goal to equalise and
give Vardar the impetus in the return leg.
Latvian outfit Metalurgs cruised to a 3-0 away win over Faroe
Islanders NSI Runavik, thanks to goals from Girts Karlsons and
Kristaps Grebis and an own-goal from Helgi Petersen.
In Liechtenstein, FC Vaduz sent Moldovans FC Dacia packing with a 2-0
win as Steve Gohouri and Gaspar De Souza struck for the home side.
Portadown needed a last-minute penalty to keep their European hopes
alive as they lost 2-1 at home to Viking FK of Norway.
Vincent Arkins duly converted the spot-kick after a penalty from
former Southampton striker Egil Ostenstad and a goal from Finnish
midfielder Peter Kopteff had given the visitors the lead.
One-time UEFA Cup winners Ferencvaros failed to emulate their
glorious side of the 1960s as they were beaten 2-0 at home by Belarus
minnows MTZ-RIPO Minsk.
Goals from Hamlet Mkhitaryan and Vitali Taraschik sent the visitors
home happy and left the Hungarians facing a tough away leg.
Mainz made the most of their home advantage as they ran out 4-0
winners over Armenian side Mika Ashtarak.
A brace from Benjamin Auer and strikes from Nikolce Noveski and Petr
Ruman saw the Germans cruise to victory.
Republic of Ireland’s Longford Town can look forward to a short trip
to South Wales after taking a 2-0 lead from their first leg clash
with Carmarthen.
Two defenders gave Town the win as Stephen Paisley and Barry Ferguson
got forward for a goal each.
However, the night was no washout for Welsh football as Rhyl produced
a 2-0 home win against FK Atlantas of Lithuania.
Rhyl’s 23-year-old striker Lee Hunt grabbed both goals in a game that
also saw visiting defender Kazimieras Gnedojus sent off.
IBV Vestmannaeyjar of Iceland and B36 Torshavn of the Faroe Islands
could not be separated as they contested a 1-1 first leg draw.
Asbjorn Gunnarsson put the visitors ahead after just seven minutes
before Petur Sigurdsson restored parity, although B36 will carry an
away goal into the second leg of the tie.
Cypriots APOEL Nicosia will be confident of their first round chances
after winning 2-0 away at Birkirkara of Malta.
Strikers Stavros Georgiou and Sasa Jovanovic hit second-half goals to
seal the win.
Two thousand spectators at Linfield watched the home side take a
one-nil lead against FK Ventspils of Latvia.
The Northern Irishmen led within five minutes through Timothy Mouncey
but were then frustrated as the visitors locked the gates and went
away with the tie still tightly balanced at 1-0.
San Marino’s sole UEFA Cup representatives Domagnano crashed to a 5-0
defeat at home to Slovenian hopefuls Domzale.
Nikola Nikezic led the rout with a brace, whilst Janez Zavrl, Ales
Kacicnik and Dalibor Stevanovic chipped in with a goal each to put
the tie beyond doubt.