Odense denied while Sartid shine

'Magnificent display'
Despite injuries keeping out a number of key players, Kenny Shiels' side repelled wave after wave of Odense attacks. Visiting goalkeeper Robert Robinson made a string of superb second-half saves to give the Northern Ireland club a great chance of progressing to the second round of the competition. "This was a magnificent display of defending by our under strength team of part-timers," Shiels said. "The result keeps the tie alive."

Atlantas sunk
Despite a valiant effort, FK Atlantas could only restrict Russian giants FC Spartak Moskva to a 2-0 victory at the Luzhniki stadium. Spartak took the lead in the eighth minute with a Pavel Pogrebniak penalty and when Vladimir Leshonok doubled the lead ten minutes before half-time, it looked like Spartak would put the game out of sight. However, the Lithuanian side were unlucky not to score when Dainius Kunevichus hit the crossbar with a delicate lob while Andrius Puotkalis also went close.

Emphatic wins
The most comprehensive success in Sunday's matches came in Andorra where six goals in 20 second-half minutes helped FK Sartid beat local outfit UE Sant Julià 8-0. Nenad Mirosavjevic scored a hat-trick and Milorad Zecevic scored two more as the Serbo-Montenegrin team all but booked their place in the second round. Austrian side SW Bregenz looked set for a similar score when they scored four first-half goals at home against FK Khazar Universiteti of Azerbaijan, but they could not extend their lead in the second half.

Penalty miss
Georgian side FC Dila Gori were left to rue a late penalty miss after a goalless draw at PFC Marek Dupnitza in Bulgaria. Marek had dominated the game, but Dila had the opportunity to snatch a win in the dying minutes when the home team's Iliya Iliev handled on the goalline. However, the resulting penalty from Georgi Balashvili was superbly saved by Nikolai Chavdarov.

Finnish frugality
Both Finnish teams involved in yesterday's first-round ties earned 1-1 draws. A second-half goal by Jarkku Wiss gave Tampere United parity in Luxembourg after CS Grevenmacher's Volker Schmitt had opened the scoring. In Finland, Myllykosken Pallo-47 also came from behind, with Saku Puhakainen equalising against the Czech Republic's FK Tescoma Zlin with a long-range strike. Fabio Gomes had given the visitors the lead on 65 minutes.

Rapid fire
Two goals in as many minutes left JK Trans Narva with a tough task ahead of their return leg in Estonia next Saturday. A further goal 15 minutes from time sealed a 3-0 victory for Lithuanian outfit FK Vetra in Vilnius, which makes them strong favourites to book a second round date with Scottish Premier League side Hibernian FC. Swiss side FC Thun also scored two goals in two minutes as they defeated Romanian club CF Gloria Bistrita 1922 2-0.

Slender margins
Albanian outfit KS Teuta earned a decent goalless draw at home to ZTS Dubnica of Slovakia, while Marek Kubisz's goal seven minutes before half-time secured a 1-0 lead for Polish side MKS Odra Wodzislaw Slaski to take to Belarus next week in their tie with FC Dinamo Minsk. Elsewhere, Belgian side KAA Gent and Israeli club Hapoel Beer-Sheva FC also take narrow one-goal leads into their second leg matches after 2-1 wins against Fylkir and KS Vllaznia respectively.