Bolton breathe sigh of relief
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Article summary
Bolton Wanderers FC were not in action but they were still one of six teams to seal their progress to the Round of 32 as the action concluded in UEFA Cup Groups E-H.
Article body
Bolton Wanderers FC were not in action but they were still among six teams to secure a berth in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 on Wednesday night when Aris Thessaloniki FC, Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC and Panionios GSS all fell. uefa.com summarises the action in the four completed groups, with the final action in Groups A-D set to follow on Thursday night.
Group E
With the identity of the three qualifiers already known, the final round of games served to decide the finishing order. Bayer 04 Leverkusen began the day in third place but their 5-0 win at FC Zürich lifted them to first. FC Spartak Moskva lost 2-1 at bottom side Toulouse FC but pipped Swiss contenders Zürich to the runners-up spot by a point.
Group F
It was a nervous night for Bolton, who were top at kick-off but, having completed all their fixtures, could still have been eliminated had SC Braga beaten eliminated FK Crvena Zvezda by two goals and FC Bayern München drawn with Aris. But although the Portuguese side duly won 2-0, Bayern triumphed 6-0 to top the group, with Braga second and Bolton third.
Group G
While Tottenham Hotspur FC were already though after their four fixtures, Getafe CF met RSC Anderlecht with neither side's progress assured. European debutants Getafe prevailed 2-1 to take first place from Spurs, but Anderlecht also scraped through in third spot after Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC failed to defeat Aalborg BK, the UEFA Intertoto Cup winners gaining a 3-1 victory in Israel to take the consolation of fourth position.
Group H
Only one place in Friday's draw remained on offer from this group, with Galatasaray AS needing to better Panionios's result to snatch third place. Yet although Galatasaray were held 0-0 at home by previously point-less FK Austria Wien, the Turkish side went through on goal difference thanks to Panionios's surrender of a two-goal lead against FC Girondins de Bordeaux, who came back to win 3-2 with a goal three minutes from time. Bordeaux finished on a maximum 12 points, with Helsingborgs BK second having booked progress as early as Matchday 3.