Marica seals Stuttgart success

UEFA Cup chance
Stuttgart trailed the third round tie 1-0 to FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast after the first leg and it seemed as if Russia would end its wait for a Intertoto victory before Jan Šimák equalised with seven minutes left. Marica put Stuttgart in front in the 18th minute of extra time and struck again soon after to take the Bundesliga side into Friday's UEFA Cup second qualifying round draw – with the aim of going further than the last 16, which they reached after their previous Intertoto successes in 2000 and 2002.

Pressure tells
Holding the lead in the tie, Saturn – on their debut European campaign – soaked up the pressure early on and it took 20 minutes for Stuttgart to create a real chance, Roberto Hilbert's cross just eluding Šimák, who came close with a free-kick on the half-hour while Pardo shot wide from distance. The home side began to press in numbers in the second half, and Manuel Fischer twice threatening after being set up by the likely Hilbert while space was opening up for Saturn and with 15 minutes left Marko Topić missed a chance to wrap up the tie for the Premier-Liga team. Instead, Šimák forced extra-time with a curled free-kick.

Marica makes mark
A penalty shoot-out seemed the likely outcome in a tight additional half-hour until with 12 minutes to go Hilbert's cross was headed in by Marica. Two minutes later the Romanian international struck again as he reacted quickest in a goalmouth scramble to make a little bit of history for himself – as the last player to score in the competition – and for his club, completing a unique hat-trick.