Late flurry rescues Leiria

Portuguese SuperLiga side UD Leiria overcame a first-leg deficit to run out clear winners against nine-man Coleraine FC, winning 5-0 at home to secure a 6-2 aggregate triumph and march into the UEFA Cup first round.

Temporary home
Leiria were trailing 2-1 from the encounter in Northern Ireland a fortnight ago so had work to do in a match played at the Municipal Stadium of Marinha Grande rather than their customary Magalhães Pessoa home, which is being redeveloped ahead of UEFA EURO 2004™.

Beatty red card
Coleraine's bid to protect their slender lead suffered a blow midway through the first half when Stephen Beatty was sent off for a foul on Paolo Duarte. The visitors did well to hold on as long as they did, but in the 55th minute Brazilian striker Ludemar broke the deadlock.

Wasted chances
The visitors pressed for an equaliser and after Rory Hamill spurned a good chance from close range, Gareth McAuley watched in disbelief as his header bounced off the crossbar with the Leiria goalkeeper beaten.

Late flurry
Coleraine were made to pay when Edson scored twice in four minutes to make the game safe. Ludemar broke into the box to knock in the fourth and after Stuart Clanachan was sent off for a clumsy challenge, Caíco rounded off proceedings with a delicate chip in added time.