Home comfort boosts Young Boys

BSC Young Boys comfortably swept aside Odense BK 4-2 in Berne to make it two consecutive home victories in UEFA Europa League Group H.

The Swiss hopefuls have responded perfectly to their opening 3-0 reverse at VfB Stuttgart, remaining three points behind the German section leaders and, equally importantly, opening up a three-point gap to third-placed Getafe CF. First-half goals from Henri Bienvenu and Scott Sutter paved the way with David Degen and Senad Lulić adding efforts after the interval, either side of responses from Peter Utaka and Chris Sørensen's penalty.

The visitors, still searching for their first point at start of play, began brightly enough with Sørensen firing wide after being teed up by Andreas Johansson while their goalkeeper Alexander Lund Hansen was largely unemployed until the opening goal. That all changed on 25 minutes, though, as Bienvenu rose above two defenders to head in Moreno Costanzo's free-kick.

Nine minutes later the lead was doubled, Sutter bursting on to Xavier Hochstrasser's pass and unleashing a swerving drive from the edge of the box that deceived Hansen. Odense needed a quick response with their qualification hopes evaporating, and when Utaka bounded in behind Christoph Spycher to head in Sørensen's 48th-minute free-kick they sensed a comeback.

Hochstrasser blazed over from 20 metres on the hour but seconds later Costanzo released Degen and he finished neatly. The goalscorer then turned creator, leading a counterattack down the right that culminated in a cross that Lulić bundled in from close range after 74 minutes.

Substitute Ammar Jemal conceded an 84th-minute penalty that Sørensen buried into the corner but the hard graft had been carried out by Vladimir Petkovic's men at that stage and they will be hoping to eliminate their opponents when the sides reconvene on 4 November in Denmark.