Showdown booked in Brzesko

Tuesday's results mean Group 6 hosts Malopolska Amateur and Südwestdeutscher FV will play off for a slot in the UEFA Regions' Cup final round on Thursday.

Malopolska held
Malopolska were held to a 2-2 draw by Eastern Serbia Amateur in Brzesko to take their points total to four, while the German side won 2-1 against vastly improved Azerbaijani opponents FC Femida Beylagan in Proszowice to lead the group with six points ahead of Thursday's final games.

Bright start
Eastern Serbia made a bright start against Malopolska, bringing the ball out of defence at speed and counterattacking with gusto, and they deserved to go into the lead after 25 minutes as Dragan Stanojevic converted from the penalty spot after a team-mate had been fouled in the penalty area.

Lucky break
However, Malopolska made up for a disjointed first-half performance with a goal on the stroke of half-time, as Pawel Pachota's pass allowed Marcin Kwater to beat goalkeeper Sasa Stamenkovic from a narrow angle and level the scores for the hosts, who won 13-1 in their opening game.

Fine goal
Eastern Serbia persisted and were ahead again seven minutes into the second half as Novica Vuckovic cut in from the right flank, left a defender for dead and then pushed the ball into the left-hand corner of Malopolska custodian Krzyeztof Szot's goal.

Podgorski equaliser
From that point on, the visitors were forced to defend with substitute Jakub Podgorski proving a dangerous weapon. Stamenkovic was forced to make a number of vital saves, and captain Ivan Jovanovic blocked a goal-bound shot on the line before Podgorski saved his side's bacon with an equaliser deep into added time.

Superb Stamenkovic
"It was a hard match and we had the chance to win it, but unfortunately we were unlucky," said Eastern Serbia goalkeeper Stamenkovic who has proved to be one of the stars of the tournament so far with excellent performances in both of his games in Poland.

Drag factor
"The Serbian team played well technically, but in the middle of the second half they lacked physical power," said Malopolska's Robert Drag, who plays for Polish fourth division side Malineks. "We had a lot of chances to score. We will do our best in the decisive match against Germany and we hope to win the group."

Femida lead
The German side are the only team to have won both of their games after coming from behind to beat Femida 2-1 in Proszowice. Fakhraddin Murvatov gave the Azeri side an eighth-minute lead only for Jochen Hartman to level the scores with a marvellous strike after 28 minutes.

Kurtic winner
Having conceded 13 goals in their first game, Femida showed much more spirit against Südwestdeutscher and both sides had their share of chances in a tense second half before Marko Kurtic scored what proved to be the winning goal from close range.

Final fixtures
The final games of the tournament will be played on Friday with Südwestdeutscher and Malopolska going head-to-head in Brzesko and Femida and Eastern Serbia playing off in Wolbrom. The winner will qualify for the Regions' Cup final, to be held in June 2005 at an as yet undecided venue.