Ajax take applause amid Kalmar clamour

AFC Ajax underlined their UEFA Cup credentials with a 4-1 win in Belgrade on a first round first-leg night that proved much less enjoyable for Dutch rivals Feyenoord, with Kalmar FF's 1-0 triumph in Rotterdam one of a number of notable Nordic results. FC København earned a useful 2-1 win at FC Moskva while one of Copenhagen's favourite sons, Michael Laudrup, earned a 1-0 win in the Czech Republic in his first assignment as FC Spartak Moskva coach. The returns are in a fortnight.

FK Borac 1-4 AFC Ajax
Ajax laid down the gauntlet for their UEFA Cup rivals with a splendid victory in their first game in Belgrade since they beat Juventus 1-0 in the 1972/73 European Champion Clubs' Cup final. Serbia forward Miralem Sulejmani marked his return to the FK Partizan Stadium with his side's 13th-minute opener, and then set up Luis Suárez to lob Branko Grahovac in the Borac goal for Ajax's second. Dragan Milovanović got Borac on the scoresheet early in the second half, but Klaas Jan Huntelaar registered twice before full time – the second a great long-range shot – to snuff out any hope of a comeback.

Feyenoord 0-1 Kalmar FF
Sweden's Kalmar earned a shock victory in Rotterdam with Viktor Elm scoring the only goal 19 minutes from time, rising above Serginho Greene to head a free-kick past Henk Timmer. Feyenoord bossed the opening stages, but had little to show for their first-half performance save for a Jonathan de Guzman header that whistled just wide. Chances were spread more evenly after the break. Timmer denied Patrik Ingelsten three times, while De Guzman and Kevin Hofland tested visiting goalkeeper Petter Wastå before one of the three Elm brothers in the Kalmar squad made the breakthrough. Roy Makaay came on as a substitute, but Feyenoord could not strike back.

NEC Nijmegen 1-0 FC Dinamo 1948 Bucureşti
NEC earned their first European home win at the fifth attempt as Jhon van Beukering recovered from having a goal disallowed for offside to head the 61st-minute winner. Dinamo might have led in the first half in the Netherlands had Ionel Dănciulescu not slipped while taking a shot, and while Van Beukering's effort was chalked off just before-half-time, he was on hand to connect with Youssef El-Akchaoui's right-wing cross for the only goal of the game. The Dutch side might have scored more, with Rutger Worm, Peter Wisgerhof, Joël Tshibamba and Bas Sibum all failing to get past Bogdan Lobonţ in the Dinamo goal.

Vitória FC 1-1 SC Heerenveen
Setúbal opened the scoring against their Dutch guests but could not hold on for a win in Portugal. Leandro Carrijo put the home side ahead after 67 minutes, connecting with a cross from full-back Janício after a perceptive ball from midfielder Bruno Gama, but they came unstuck in the dying minutes, Danijel Pranjić swinging in a cross for substitute Tarik Elyounoussi to snatch the equaliser.

NK Slaven Koprivnica 1-2 PFC CSKA Moskva
Two Vágner Love goals in the last ten minutes helped 2004/05 UEFA Cup winners CSKA claim victory in Croatia. Slaven opened the scoring three minutes from half-time, with Mario Jurić scoring from close range after CSKA failed to clear Srebrenko Posavec's corner. The home side could have added to their lead, but were undone in the closing stages. Aleksei Berezutski headed a free-kick into Vágner Love's path for the striker to score 81st-minute equaliser, and the Brazilian converted a penalty seven minutes later after a foul on Miloš Krasić to claim the win. The second leg of this game is on 30 September rather than 2 October.

FC Moskva 1-2 FC København
København seized the initiative after a late flurry of goals in Moscow, with Libor Sionko heading their winner from an Ailton Almeida cross five minutes into added time, two minutes after Aleksandr Samedov's volley looked to have earned Moskva a draw. That would have been hard on København, who took the initiative from the start. César Santin tested Moskva goalkeeper Anton Amelchenko early on and captain Ulrik Laursen headed against the post for the visitors before Morten Nordstrand broke the deadlock from the penalty spot in first-half added time after Mariusz Jop fouled Atiba Hutchinson.

FC Baník Ostrava 0-1 FC Spartak Moskva
A René Bolf own goal allowed Laudrup to make a successful start at the Spartak helm. The Czech hosts looked the livelier side early on, with Rudolf Otepka hitting the crossbar with a seventh-minute free-kick before David Střihavka came out second best in a one-on-one with Spartak goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa. Malik Fathi headed against the crossbar for the Russian side at the end of the first half, and Spartak took the lead on 56 minutes as Mozart's free-kick confounded Bolf. Pletikosa denied Róbert Zeher an equaliser after a solo run at the death.

SK Slavia Praha 0-0 SC Vaslui
Slovakian Dušan Kuciak avenged a defeat with his previous club as Vaslui earned a goalless draw in Prague. The goalkeeper, who played in the MŠK Žilina side that lost on penalties to Slavia in last season's UEFA Champions League second qualifying round after trading 0-0 draws, three times denied 19-year-old Tomáš Necid – top scorer in the Czech league this season with six goals – in the second half. The Romanian club, among eight UEFA Intertoto Cup winners bidding for a group stage place, almost took the lead after 23 minutes, as Stanislav Genchev's splendid strike hit the post, but Slavia dominated thereafter.

FK Austria Wien 2-1 KKS Lech Poznań 
Defender Franz Schiemer was the hero for the home side as he struck a rare double to carve out a hard-fought victory at the Franz Horr Stadion. The 24-year-old headed Austria into a deserved lead on 64 minutes but Hernán Rengifo equalised within seconds and when Rubin Okotie missed a penalty 18 minutes from time it looked like his side would be made to pay. Schiemer had other ideas, however, and just four minutes later he guided in an excellent Milenko Ačimovič free-kick and this time there was no way back for Lech.

MŠK Žilina 1-1 PFC Levski Sofia
Joãozinho struck to earn the Bulgarian side a useful draw in Slovakia, as Pavel Vrba's side failed to hold on to their lead. Žilina started well but did not break through until the 48th minute, midfielder Admir Vladavić just beating Georgi Petkov from the spot after being fouled in the area by Lucio Wagner. Levski struck back on 63 minutes, as Dušan Perniš pushed Georgi Ivanov's shot on the post to gift Joãozinho an easy finish. Žilina's chances of regaining the initiative shrunk as Róbert Jež was dismissed for a foul on Zé Soares 15 minutes from time.

Beşiktaş JK 1-0 FC Metalist Kharkhiv
An opportunistic goal from Filip Hološko just before the hour gave the Turkish side the edge, but they will be aware that Metalist are formidable opponents on home soil. Hološko struck on 58 minutes, but Beşiktaş's joy could have been short-lived had Edmar's effort not rattled back off the crossbar moments later. Perhaps aware that Ukrainian contenders Metalist have won nine of their last 13 home league games, Beşiktaş sought to extend their advantage, but instead it was Coelho who came closest to scoring, forcing Rüştü Reçber to beat away his long-range effort.

FC Timişoara 1-2 FK Partizan
Timişoara's return to Europe after a 16-year absence ended in defeat as Partizan made their class count in Romania. Home goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon kept the Serbian giants at bay in the early stages before his side took a 24th-minute lead through Gheorghe Bucur's long range shot. The excellent Zoran Tošić restored parity ten minutes later with a fine free-kick and midfielder Moreira had a shot cleared off the line and saw another strike the crossbar before Miloš Bogunović struck Partizan's 65th-minute winner, though Lukas Magera had a good shot saved for the hosts later on.
AC Bellinzona 3-4 Galatasaray AŞ
St. Jakob-Park in Basel witnessed the sort of drama regularly conjured up at that stadium during UEFA EURO 2008™ as this game swung one way and then the other before Lincoln struck a dramatic winner for the 2000/01 UEFA Cup victors five minutes into added time. It was a cruel ending for the Swiss minnows, who had broken the deadlock through Mauro Lustrinelli after the half-hour. Harry Kewell equalised before the break and although Gürkan Sermeter restored the Swiss side's lead just after the interval, Milan Baroš strikes on 52 and 81 minutes turned the game on its head. This time it was Bellinzona's turn to come from behind, Iacopo La Rocca making it 3-3 in the last minute of regulation time. The home fans erupted, but Lincoln ensured their joy was fleeting, prompting echoes of the match in June at this ground between the national teams of Switzerland and Turkey.

BSC Young Boys 2-2 Club Brugge KV 
Seydou Doumbia salvaged a draw for Young Boys as he scored three minutes from time to settle a topsy-turvy affair in Berne. Marco Schneuwly got the hosts off to a fine start with a 16th-minute strike but Wesley Sonck exploited a lapse in the Swiss side's defence to draw Club Brugge level 20 minutes later. Philippe Clement made it 2-1 to the Belgian contenders on 73 minutes, somewhat against the run of play, but striker Doumbia responded to leave his side with a fighting chance in the second leg.

Brøndby IF 1-2 Rosenborg BK
Rosenborg took a giant leap towards the UEFA Cup group stage with a fine result in Denmark. The Norwegian side dominated the first half, with Marek Sapara striking their opener from distance on 28 minutes, and they looked to have the match wrapped up ten minutes after the break as Per Ciljan Skjelbred made it 2-0. However, Michael Krohn-Dehli struck back for Brøndby, and both Morten Rasmussen and debutant Ousman Jallow hit the woodwork for the hosts, with Banor Tettey being similarly frustrated for UEFA Intertoto Cup winners Rosenborg at the other end.

NK Dinamo Zagreb 0-0 AC Sparta Praha
Chances were at a premium as Sparta came away from Zagreb with a goalless draw. The Czech side came close after 21 minutes as Miroslav Slepička found space outside the penalty area, but his low shot fizzed wide. Dinamo responded just after the interval, but Sammir could not profit from Mario Mandžukić's useful cross. The home team dominated possession throughout, but Sparta will be the happier for their night's work ahead of the return leg in a fortnight's time.

SC Braga 4-0 FC Artmedia Petržalka
Albert Meyong struck the only hat-trick of the night as Braga cruised to victory over their Slovakian guests. The Cameroonian forward set up Evaldo for the Portuguese side's opener in the third minute, but took centre stage for the remainder of the evening, scoring in the 18th minute, converting a 30th-minute penalty and then rounding off a treble midway through the second half to propel Intertoto qualifiers Braga towards a third successive UEFA Cup group stage campaign.