Hibernians and Milsami take eye-catching scalps
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
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Hibernians and Moldovan debutants Milsami Orhei recorded shock second qualifying round first-leg wins, the latter 1-0 at 2014/15 group stage participants Ludogorets.
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• Ludogorets, in the 2014/15 group stage, lose 1-0 at home to Milsami Orhei
• Maltese contenders Hibernians come from a goal down to defeat Maccabi Tel-Aviv 2-1
• Molde record the biggest victory of the night, overcoming Pyunik 5-0
• Five more second qualifying round first legs on Wednesday
Ventspils (LVA) 1-3 HJK Helsinki (FIN)
• HJK were trailing until a quarter of an hour from time. An Erfan Zeneli penalty levelled things up while Ousman Jallow, with a long-range effort, put the visitors ahead two minutes after coming on.
• Atomu Tanaka, who struck the bar with an early lob, followed up to score in added time. Ventspils took a 63rd-minute lead when defender Antons Jemeļins touched in Jurijs Žigajevs's free-kick.
APOEL (CYP) 0-0 Vardar (MKD)
• Group stage participants last season, APOEL will go to Skopje next week on equal terms after failing to break down a stubborn Vardar defence marshalled by the Cypriot side's former centre-back Boban Grncarov.
• Tome Pacovski impressed in goal for the away team, twice denying Luís Leal before the break and then thwarting Tomás De Vincenti in the second half.
Midtjylland (DEN) 1-0 Lincoln (GIB)
• Lincoln will host UEFA Champions League debutants Midtjylland in a week's time hopeful of causing a major upset after a narrow defeat in Herning.
• Morten Rasmussen's 33rd-minute effort was all that separated the sides on a night when Jess Thorup, who guided Denmark to the semi-finals of the recent UEFA European Under-21 Championship, presided over his first match as Midtjylland coach.
Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL) 0-1 Milsami (MDA)
• Ludogorets – who rubbed shoulders with Basel, Liverpool and Real Madrid in the group stage last autumn – have it all to do if they are to progress. Alexandru Antoniuc struck four minutes before the break, scrambling the ball in from close range following a corner.
• Missing the creative spark of the suspended Marcelinho, the Razgrad club succumbed to their first European reverse at Ludogorets Arena – in Bruno Ribeiro's debut game as coach.
Skënderbeu (ALB) 4-1 Crusaders (NIR)
• A double from Hamdi Salihi means Skënderbeu are in a strong position to reach the third qualifying round for the second time.
• Salihi's second, in the 83rd minute, rounded off the scoring for the Albanian club, whose two-goal cushion had been halved by Jordan Owens.
Molde (NOR) 5-0 Pyunik (ARM)
• Three goals in 12 minutes late on gave Molde a resounding victory.
• The Tippeligaen outfit broke the deadlock through a spectacular overhead kick from Mohamed Elyounoussi, who made it 2-0 just before half-time. Ola Kamara headed Molde into a 3-0 lead and then got his name on the scoresheet again after being sent clear. Substitute Mattias Moström linked up with Elyounoussi for the fifth in the 95th minute.
Hibernians (MLT) 2-1 Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR)
• Jackson Lima set up the equaliser for Jorginho and then scored the clincher with five minutes left as Hibernians stunned Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Paola.
• Hibernians coach Branko Nišević told UEFA.com: "I am very happy and satisfied with the result and, as I've said, football is about what happens on the pitch. My players responded well and I am very happy."
The New Saints (WAL) 0-1 Videoton (HUN)
• Ádám Gyurcsó's low drive from outside the area gave Videoton the edge over their Welsh opponents.
• Gyurcsó shot past Paul Harrison with 13 minutes to go, picking up the loose ball after Christian Seargeant was caught in possession midway inside the TNS half.
Maribor (SVN) 1-0 Astana (KAZ)
• Marko Šuler headed Maribor, another of last season's group stage contenders, into a fifth-minute lead from Dare Vršič's corner.
• Competition newcomers Astana were more of a threat in the second period, Baurzhan Dzholchiyev spurning a presentable opportunity from ten metres. Maribor captain Tavares and Damjan Bohar were just as profligate, passing up decent chances of their own from close range.
Trenčín (SVK) 0-2 Steaua (ROU)
• Trenčín's big night was spoiled by 1986 European Cup winners Steaua.
• Contesting their first UEFA Champions League fixture, Trenčín were denied a lead when Gabriel Tamaş cleared Gino Van Kessel's shot off the line. Nicolae Stanciu put Steaua in front with an angled free-kick. Jugurtha Hamroun gave the visitors a two-goal cushion by turning in a low cross from Adrian Popa.
Partizan (SRB) 1-0 Dila Gori (GEO)
• Dila Gori were seven minutes away from a creditable draw on their competition bow, only for Partizan captain Stefan Babović to shatter their resolve with a well-struck free-kick.
• Babović found the net from the resulting dead ball after Guga Phalavandishvili received a second booking for fouling Andrija Živković on the edge of the penalty box.
Sarajevo (BIH) 0-2 Lech Poznań (POL)
• Denis Thomalla added to Kasper Hämäläinen's first-half strike as Lech made it a good night's work in the Bosnian capital.
• Sarajevo, back in the competition for the first time since 2007/08, had 14 attempts on goal to the visitors' seven.