FC Tobyl and SK Slovan Bratislava are among the sides happiest with their UEFA Intertoto Cup 1st round 1st leg results whilst Cliftonville FC were frustrated by 10 man FC Dinaburg as uefa.com rounds up the action from the opening day. To see a full list of competing clubs and fixtures, click here.
Cliftonville FC 1-1 FC Dinaburg
Cliftonville FC came from behind to level thanks to a debut goal by Ciaran O′Connor however would not defeat 10 man FC Dinaburg at Solitude. Jurijs Sokolovs put the visitors in front after 20 minutes, finishing off a cross from Zaur Kaziev following a defensive error by Declan O′Hara. O′Connor, a recent signing from Glenavon FC, equalised 5 minutes before the break when he followed up a rebound after Chris Scannell′s shot was saved. Dinaburg were then reduced to 10 men only before the hour when Alexey Kostenko was dismissed after tangling with Barry Johnston however the Latvian club held firm.
FK Baku 1-1 FC Dacia Chisinau
An own goal 10 minutes from time by Maxim Andranik gave FK Baku a well-earned draw against Dacia Chisinau. The visitors had taken the early initiative, putting Khalidou Sissoko under constant load in Baku's goal, and the Senegalese goalkeeper was almost beaten 5 minutes before half time when Valentin Onila caught him off guard with a long-range header which drifted wide. Onila soon broke the deadlock, though, scoring with a fierce volley before the break. Baku poured forward in the 2nd half however struggled in front of goal, their best chance coming when Dzhamshid Magerramov crashed a shot against the crossbar from distance. Andranik came to their rescue when he turned a right wing cross past his own goalkeeper and Farid Guliyev could have secured a home winzzz in the closing stages had his 85th minute header not flown wide.
Ethnikos Achnas FC 1-0 FK Makedonija Skopje
Cypriot side Ethnikos Achnas FC will take a narrow advantage into the return leg in F.Y.R. Macedonia inspite of missing a number of chances against Makedonija. Captain Christos Poyiatzis scored the only goal from the penalty spot on 7 minutes after goalkeeper Ljupco Kolev had brought down Zoran Stjepanović, even though the home side spurned a series of clear chances to put the tie beyond their Macedonian counterparts, who fielded a team consisting mostly of players from their Under-21 national squad. Slovenian forward Patrik Ipavec saw his shot come back off the post midway through the 1st half whilst there were further misses from Poyiatzis, Panayiotis Engomitis and Damir Suljanović in the 2nd period.
FC Tobyl 3-0 FC Zestaponi
FC Tobyl completed a convincing home triumph against their Georgian visitors however had to wait until the 2nd half before breaking through. The 1st period was a cautious affair even though Nurbol Zhumaskaliev, Ruslan Baltiev, Ulugbek Bakaev and Sergei Skorykh all threatened for the home side. The visitors′ only clear-cut chance came at the start of the 2nd half when Gogi Pipia′s grazed the bar however Tobyl soon responded with a goal, Nurbol Zhumaskaliev reacting 1st to a rebound from a Kairat Nurdauletov set-piece. That goal came on 63 minutes and the 2nd followed 2 minutes later, Baltiev finishing in style from Zhumaskaliev′s corner. Azat Nurgaliev then set up the 3rd, providing a pinpoint cross which Bakaev tapped in.
NK Zagreb 2-1 KS Vllaznia
Zagreb were forced to come from behind to carve out a narrow advantage against their Albanian visitors, who had taken a 3rd minute lead when Arlind Nora struck following a corner. The home side drew level from a similar source 13 minutes later, however, Safet Nadarević the scorer, and Zagreb in the end turned their dominance into a lead in the 64th mintue as Tomislav Labudović found the net, the game′s 3rd goal from a corner. Both sides finished the game with 10 men as Franc Ahi of Vllaznia was dismissed in the 73rd minute before the Croatian side lost Krunslav Lovrek to a red card a minute from time.
FC Differdange 03 0-2 SK Slovan Bratislava
Slovan will be confident of reaching the next round after a narrow triumph at Differdange. Mizoslav Poliacek gave his side a deserved lead on 32 minutes before his replacement Pavol Sedlak doubled the advantage 9 minutes after half-time, 4 minutes after coming on. Differdange, playing at AS Jeunesse Esch's ground, had taken the game to their visitors after the break however squandered several chances and now the team from Luxemburg have it all to do in the return leg at the Slovan Stadium.
Hammerby 1-0 KÍ Klaksvik
Hammarby scrambled a scrappy triumph against KÍ before 1,633 spectators in Sweden. The home side had taken the lead as early as the 3rd minute with new recruit Charlie Davies scoring his 1st goal for the club. Those expecting the floodgates to open after the early breakthrough were to be disappointed, however, as the visiting Faroese club held out. "Of course it′s a disappointment", mentioned Hammarby coach Tony Gustafsson. "We should have scored more goals however it′s hard against a side that is only focused on defending".
Sant Julia 2 3 FK Slavija Sarajevo
Sant Julia showed good resolve to claw back a 2 goal deficit with 2 goals in as lots of 2nd half minutes only to fall foul of Darko Spalević's late winner. The home side held Slavija at bay during the 1st half however went behind when Varela put through his own net only before the hour-mark. Buoyed by their lead the visitors scored again 3 minutes later through Vlastimir Jovanović however the hosts bounced back into contention when Pepe (64) and then Luis (65) surprised their Bosnia-Herzegovnian visitors. With 6 minutes left on the clock, however, Spalević dented Andorran expects with a deft strike to take a slender lead into the return leg.
FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk 4-1 FC Ararat
2 goals by Aleksandr Klimenko helped FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk take a major step towards the 2nd round with a comprehensive triumph against FC Ararat. The hosts had taken the lead midway through the 1st half when Aleksandr Yurevich crossed for Aleksei Rios to head in from point-blank range and soon afterwards, Rios almost doubled the lead only to see his goalbound effort scrambled off the line. Shakhtyor′s leading scorer Klimenko had 4 presentable chances to score before the break, only to fall short on each occasion, whilst Ararat′s lone forward Marcos Pizelli made the most of his only chance a minute before half-time, launching on a solo run before cutting in from the right, dribbling past 3 defenders and equalising from 16 metres. Shakhtyor were more ruthless after the break, though, regaining the lead on 58 minutes through Maksim Gukailo before Klimenko twice scored after fine approach play by Aleksandr Novik and Mikhail Martinovich.
Valur Reykjavik 0-2 Cork City FC
2 away goals in Laugardalsvöllur puts Cork City in the driving seat for the return leg of their 1st round match against Valur Reykjavik. The visitors had taken the lead after only 5 minutes when Colin O′Brien fired in the opening goal from 23 metres out and there were chances for either side in an eventful match as the hosts pressed forward in search of an equaliser. Cork scored the all-important 2nd midway through the 2nd half when Liam Kearney found the net direct from a free kick whilst Valur failed to reduce the arrears.
