Champions League Qualifiers Round Up
The Champions’ League qualifiers continued on Wednesday which confirmed the entry of five more entrants into the lucrative tournament. The matches proved that home advantage was essential in the second leg as all home sides on the night progressed into the next stage.
In France, Auxerre saw off the challenge from former UEFA Cup winners Zenit St. Petersburg 2-0 on the night to nick a 2-1 aggregate win. Earlier Zenit had beaten the French club 1-0 in the first leg. The result can be considered a shock given that Zenit had been performing so well in the Russian league and were expected to progress to the group stages of the Champions League. Yet they were undone by goals from Cedric Hengbart and Irenuesz Jelen. To rub salt into the wounds of the Russians, they lost a sizeable chunk of their defence to indiscipline as both goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev and defender Tomas Hubocan were sent off as it appeared that the French were going to go through.
In the heartland of Dutch football, Ajax defeated Dynamo Kiev 2-1 to condemn the Ukrainians to the Europa League. They won the aggregate tie 3-2 and can be well pleased to enter the main draw of the elite club competition. Their success on the night can be attributed to a Luis Suarez strike on the 43 minute mark along with Mounir El Hamdaoui in the 75th minute. Former Milan and Chelsea striker Andei Shevchenko scored a penalty in the 84th minute to set up a grandstand finish and give the Dutch side jitters near the conclusion of the game. Yet Martin Jol's Ajax held on to go through to the next stage.
In Denmark, FC Copenhagen went through on the away goals rule as they claimed a 1-0 win over Rosenborg Trondheim. Solvi Ottesen scored the only goal of the night in the 33rd minute to ensure that Denmark had a representation in the Champions League.
MSK Zilna comfortably won against Sparta Prague. The Slovak club held a 2-0 lead from the first leg over Prague and managed to hold on to the lead. In addition, they built on their aggregate lead in Slovakia through the goal scoring exploits of Momoudou Ceesay who scored in the 18th minute. Sparta could have had a way back into the game had Jiri Kladrubsky not missed a second-half penalty. Because the penalty was missed, Zilna were able to hang on to make it through.
Finally, in England, Tottenham Hotspur easily won over Swiss side Young Boys. English striker Peter Crouch celebrated the historic occasion with a hat-trick and then immediately set his eyes upon facing the best of the best. Crouch said in the aftermath that he would love to face the likes of Real Madrid and Inter Milan in the elite competition and that Spurs will not hide or run away from a fight. Manager Harry Redknapp was elated with the performance of his team and said that he looked forward to finally perform in the Champions League. Tottenham, at this moment in time, will not care who they meet in the competition. They will just be glad to be there.
With this set of matches, the qualifiers for the Champions’ League group stages came to an end. There were some big winners like Tottenham Hotspur but there were some high profile casualties as well. These include the talented Spanish side Sevilla and Russian leaders Zenit St Petersburg. Both teams will be ruing the fact that they will not be able to cash in to the money which the inclusion into the Champions League brings to its participants.
As a result, there will be some old and new faces that may join the elite collection of clubs already in the main draw. Now the focus moves on to the Champions League draw which will collectivize the teams into mouth-watering groups. Some of the best football action in Europe awaits fans across the globe.
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