Ngog double sinks Rabotniki
Reuters - Thursday 29 July 2010, 21:42
BERNE - Liverpool and Juventus, forced
into the indignity of beginning their season in the Europa
League qualifying rounds, both won 2-0 away on Thursday as
European club football ventured into deepest Siberia.
Liverpool, playing in the Champions League's 'poorer cousin'
for the second season running after exiting the premier
competition at the group stage last term, beat Rabotniki in
Macedonia while the Italians overcame Ireland's Shamrock Rovers.
The former European champions were among a smattering of
familiar names in Thursday's 34 third qualifying round, first
leg ties which featured matches from the island of Madeira, in
the Atlantic ocean, to Novosibirsk, halfway across Russia.
Portugal's Maritimo hammered Bangor City 8-2 in the former
match in Funchal while the latter saw Russian Cup runners-up
Sibir Novosibirsk beat Apollon Limassol 1-0 to record their
first-ever win in European club competition.
Senegal's Baba Diawara and Brazilians Tcho and Danilo all
notched two goals apiece for Maritimo, who scored five times in
the last 15 minutes.
Captain Aleksei Medvedev scored in the 74th for Sibir, who
are based more than 3,000 miles from Moscow and became the most
easterly club to appear in European competition.
"The victory is the first for Sibir in Europe, and I would
like to congratulate the team and the city," said coach Igor
Kriushenko.
David Ngog scored in each half for Liverpool, in their first
competitive match under new coach Roy Hodgson who last season
led Fulham to the final of the same competition, while an Amauri
double gave Juventus their win.
Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart overcame the absence of German
internationals Cacau, Serdar Tasci and Sami Khedira, still on
holiday after the World Cup, to triumph 3-2 at Norwegian club
Molde with an 82nd minute winner from substitute Martin Harnik.
However, coach Christian Gross was not pleased with his side
who twice squandered the lead. "We have to play with more focus
to make it easier for ourselves," he said.
Dutch side AZ Alkmaar beat Gothenburg 2-0, Sporting Lisbon
won 1-0 at Danish side Nordsjaelland while Galatasaray were held
2-2 at home by OFK Belgrade, who scored in the last 10 minutes
through substitutes Milos Krstic and Nenad Injac.
There was crowd trouble in Romania when about 500 supporters
of Croatia's Hajduk Split were banned from attending the match
at Dinamo Bucharest following pre-game clashes.
Romania state news agency Agerpres said 25 Croat supporters
and 25 Romanians clashed in front of a central shopping mall in
Bucharest, with one supporter severely wounded. Dinamo won 3-1.
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