Zvezda take place among Europe's élite

Zvezda-2005 coach Aleksandr Grigoryan said his players proved themselves on the European stage with the 2-2 draw at Umeå IK that took the Russian side through to the UEFA Women's Cup final 4-2 on aggregate.

Debut run
This is Zvezda's debut season in the competition but, before Sunday, they had won all eight of their European fixtures, including a 1-0 defeat of holders 1. FFC Frankfurt and the 2-0 first-leg victory against two-time champions Umeå, who were aiming to reach their third straight final and sixth overall in eight years. But although Umeå led twice in the return match, two Darina Apanaschenko equalisers condemned the Swedish team to their first-ever UEFA Women's Cup semi-final exit.

Crucial goal
Grigoryan, whose charges were already Russia's first semi-finalists, said: "Our opponents scored the first goal very quickly and took the psychological advantage. But after we then scored on the break I was sure we would go through. We had a lot of chances to score more after half-time and when it was 2-2 I was stopping my players as they were pushing to get the third. After the final whistle I told [Umeå coach] Mika Sankala that his team are more famous in Europe but that our standard is higher."

German foes
In the final his side, who are yet to start their domestic season, will welcome FCR 2001 Duisburg to Russia on 16 May before visiting Germany a week later. "I'm not surprised we will play against a German team," Grigoryan said. "They are a very powerful club. We are exhausted now. We will have a rest for a week and then will begin to think about these games."