García's dream goes on

By Tom Kington in Rome

Villarreal's dream UEFA Cup debut continued as they claimed a crucial away goal to oust AS Roma, and visiting coach Francisco García had no hesitation in hailing the triumph as "historic".

Vital strike
Roma trailed 2-0 going into their home leg, but levelled the scores only for Sonny Anderson to strike 24 minutes from time and leave the tie out of the Italian club's reach. García admitted that earning a quarter-final tie with Celtic FC was more than he could have imaged.

Coach's delight
"This is a historic moment for Villarreal," he said. "To eliminate Roma, and at their own ground, seemed unthinkable. This is something that makes the players great, it is a victory for them, for their faith and the effort they have put in."

Fluid passing
García's side, who entered the competition via the UEFA Intertoto Cup, have now overcome UEFA Champions League regulars Roma and Galatasaray SK with a mixture of fluid passing and hard work, not to mention the superb strike-rate of Sonny Anderson, who had scored in Villarreal's last four outings in this competition. They were also helped by the return of defender Rodolfo Arruabarrena, who had missed the first leg and gives the side options up the left side, just as Brazilian Belleti was able to forage up the right.

Praise for striker
The home victory a fortnight ago had proved an obvious morale-booster for the UEFA Intertoto Cup winners. "After the score went to 2-0 we knew to react," the coach said. "There is also no doubt that another key has been the performance of Sonny Anderson. He is a great player and a luxury to have in our team." Indeed, the Brazilian in the competition's joint leading scorer with five goals.

Roma hopes dashed
Fabio Capello's Roma did put up a fight, with Emerson and Oliver Dacourt breaking up Spanish attacks in the first half while launching plenty of their own. It was Emerson's long-range pearl of a shot that opened the scoring in the tenth minute, but they had to wait until the second half for Antonio Cassano to turn in Francesco Totti's cross to level the tie - prior to the visitors' sucker punch.

Capello content
The coach remained upbeat, despite his side's elimination, "In football you need luck, and we did not have it tonight, while in the first leg we gifted José Mari a goal," said Capello. "The work and the determination was there and I am happy with our performance on the pitch tonight."

Villarreal aim for glory
Roma at least will earn Champions League football next season if they maintain their currently lofty placing in Serie A, but it is the mid-table Primera División side that retain hopes of European glory this term. Another fine away performance at Celtic on 8 April, and anything is possible.