Sampdoria 1-1 Hajduk (agg:2-1)

Ivan Pudar the manager of Croatian side Hajduk was sacked as coach shortly after the first leg of this UEFA Cup decider. Citing poor form in their domestic league and the home defeat by Sampdoria, the clubs board made the announcement in the international press. Despite several names being mentioned with the vacant post, Hajduk came into the match without a recognised manager.

Having been very unlucky in the first leg where they hit the woodwork several times, Sampdoria fans who turned up to watch UEFA cup football would have been quite nervous as to how the game would progress in the Luigi Ferraris Stadium. They saw the home team Sampdoria made to work very hard throughout the game. The turning point came as Cristian Maggio was brought down in the Hajduk penalty area and a penalty was awarded to Sampdoria.

Thankfully for the Italian team, Vincenzo Montella was able to hold his nerve and slot the ball home, giving the home side a huge advantage over the visitors. The home fans were now able to enjoy the live football a little more, although Hajduk were certainly not ready to give up on the tie. After several chances were squandered Hajduk gave themselves some hope when on 83 Mirko Hrgovic steered a free kick into the Sampdoria net to set up an exciting finale. For the next 7 minutes Hajduk laid siege to the Sampdorian goal but just could not find another goal to take them through to the group stages of the UEFA cup.

Unfortunately crowd trouble before the match is currently being investigated as a policeman and supporter received serious head injuries during fighting between fans.

Dunfermline’s poor disciplinary record for this season was their for all to see in this live football match, may well have contributed to what turned into a disastrous night for them as they went down 1-0 to the Swedish side and in doing so lost their chance to play European football.

Dunfermline manager Steven Kenny must have re iterated how important it was for the players to retain their composure in what was sure to be a tense game in which they needed to score to have any chance to progress through to the next round of the UEFA cup. However Dunfermline found them selves with an uphill struggle with only a ten man team after striker Jim Hamilton was sent off for a second bookable offence. Having been booked in the first half for decent the Dunfermline striker unbelievably kicked the ball away when given off side and in doing so earned an early exit from the game and gave his team mates and the 1000 traveling fans a night to forget.

The sending off had come after BK Hacken had scored through Ari Skulason as he found himself unmarked and rifled in his goal past the Dunfermline keeper Paul Gallacher. Still Dunfermline could have progressed had they taken any of the chances that were presented to them. Both Stevie Crawford and Kevin Harper had good opportunities but were unable to convert their chances to give Dunfermline any hope.

Despite Steven Kenny bringing on bringing on Tam McManus and Mark Burchill to go for an all out attack, they failed to create much in the way of clear cut chances due to the fact that they were a man short. Indeed the difference may have led to Hacken increasing the score line themselves had they been a little more adventurous.

So with their European fate sealed, Dunfermline return to their domestic league and can only hope of pushing for promotion this year, one thing is for sure though, if their disciplinary record doesn’t improve quickly, they could find themselves in the second division next year.

Ewood Park saw their team progress through to the UEFA cup competition at the expense of the Finnish club who had given Blackburn a good game overall. With promising displays over the two legs of this tie Blackburn will feel confident of progressing to the group stages as they really had to work hard for this victory. Although they had the advantage of the away goal Blackburn found the MyPa team just as resilient in this second leg and could have marked up goals over the course of the match had they taken some of their chances. Blackburn had several good chances falling to their players in the first half but found the MyPa keeper Janne Korhonen in fine form.

As both teams headed to the dressing room at half time the home fans must have been starting to feel nervous in this live football match, as only one goal from the visitors would change the context of the game. Blackburn addressed this concern soon after the break as David Bentley volleyed a left foot shot into the MyPa net on 48 to calm the nerves of the players and fans.

MyPa still tried to force the game looking for the goal that would bring them back into the game but it was to be Blackburn’s night as they took control of the game. The home team scored another goal through Jason Roberts in injury time to make the result look fair over the two legs. Mark Hughes will be pleased with the performance from his players and will hope that they can progress through to the group phases as this would give them and their fans a fantastic European competition to look forward to. Only time will tell!

AIK 2-0 Metalurgs (agg: 4-3)

AIK pull off a remarkable win in this live football match, as they turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 victory in front of their home crowd in Sweden. With the advantage of 2 away goals AIK knew that the game was not lost and just one goal could turn the game on its head. Metalurgs knew this as well as both teams took no chances in conceding an early goal. The first goal was to come on 43 for the home team courtesy of their Brazilian striker Figuiredo who converted his chance late in the first half.

With their spirits lifted and gaining in confidence the home team where now in the driving seat and knew that if the result stayed this way it would be they who went through to the UEFA Cup live and not the Latvian’s. After the break both teams remained cautious although Metalurgs were the more attacking of the two. The decisive goal came near the end of the match on 84 and again fell to the home team as striker Figuiredo scored his second of the night to put this team in control and the result beyond any doubt.

AIK manager Rikard Norling will be hoping that his players can continue in the Uefa competition with performances like this as his Brazilian forwards especially should make them a team who scores goal. The question will be whether the defence can stop leaking goals.

Kayseri Erciyesspor 3-1 Maccabi Tel-Aviv Live (agg: 4-2)

Turkish team Kayseri Erciyesspor went through at the expense of Maccabi Tel-Aviv after an entertaining match which at half time could have still gone either way. Erciyesspor manager Mehmet Bulut saw his side open the scoring through Ozbey on 7 to give his side the advantage in the match and saw this advantage doubled on 15 when Koksal added a second to put the Turkish team in control.

However Maccabi pulled themselves back into the tie when they scored a goal through Haddad on 41, to set up a nervous second half. Both teams probably knew that the next goal would be the winner and played very cautiously. On 72 the home crowd were relived to see their own player Alaattin hit the winner for Kayseri Erciyesspor and see them through to the UEFA cup competition, beginning in September.

This live football match proved very entertaining for the Turkish fans and they will be hoping that their team can play well in the first round to enter the group stages. Being overshadowed by their better known Turkish league rivals they are desperate for a run in a European competition and based on this result they might just get their wish.

CSKA Sofia 2-1 Omonia Live (agg: 3-2)

CSKA Sofia booked their place in next months Uefa cup first round with a nail biting last minute winning goal in this live football match. The Greek side had started the match well and stunned the home crowd by taking the lead through Kakoyiannis on 8.

This gave the Greek side the upper hand of knowing that they would progress if the results stayed the same. Unfortunately for them the scores didn’t stay the same and changed on 16 when Sofia’s Brazilian striker Nei who scored in the first leg, scored his second of the match to bring Sophia level again and place the match all square.

The remaining time of the first half was very cautious as neither team wanted to concede the next goal, knowing full well that it could very well be the winner. After the break the play stayed very tight with few chances being created from either team. With the last minute of the game being played, both teams seemed to have settled for playing extra time when Chilikov managed to convert his chance and send the crowd wild in celebration. With no time for the Omonia Greek side to respond it was Sofia who progressed after a thrilling end to the match.