Umeå miss out as Duisburg lead qualifiers

Former European titleholders FCR 2001 Duisburg were joined by fellow qualifying round group winners Brøndby IF, Everton, Apollon Limassol LFC, FCF Juvisy Essonne, ASD Bardolino Verona and FC Rossiyanka plus best runners-up Breidablik and ŽNK Krka in securing their places in the UEFA Women's Champions League knockout phase, meaning an early exit for two-time winners Umeå IK.

The seven group winners were joined by the two runners-up with the best record against the teams first and third in their pool. While unbeaten Breidablik had clearly the best record, Krka of Slovenia only just edged out FC NSA Sofia, Glasgow City FC and Umeå, who never before had failed to reach the quarter-finals.

Those nine qualifiers join the 23 sides − including holders 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam, given a bye to the knockout phase − in the draw for the rounds of 32 and 16 on 19 August. For the round of 32 teams will be split into two seeding pots of 16, which will be confirmed shortly, but no club can meet a side from their own association.

Group 1
Former semi-finalists Brøndby secured their place with a 3-0 win against NSA on home soil. The lively Lene Jensen opened the scoring and after NSA's Lili Zhekova hit the underside of the crossbar, Emma Madsen and substitute Henriette Dahl struck to give the Danish club 21 goals without reply in their three wins. FC Roma Calfa edged out Gazi Üniversitesi SK for third place on goal difference with a 3-3 draw; had the Turkish side not conceded an 88th-minute goal, NSA would have been through as second best runners-up instead of Krka.

Group 2
Everton moved through with even greater comfort than Brøndby, beating Lithuanian hosts Gintra Universitetas 7-0 – they were six up by the 36th minute – with captain Jody Handley scoring twice and setting up another for her side, who ended with a total of 23 goals scored by ten different players. Faroese outfit KÍ Klaksvík finished third after a 2-0 victory against ZFK Borec, for whom UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship star Natasa Andonova impressed.

Group 3
A 4-1 win against Umeå on Saturday put Cypriot hosts Apollon in control of the group and they confirmed their progress as Liliana Kostova, Andreea Laiu and Alexandra Iusan ensured a 3-0 win against ASA Tel-Aviv. Umeå, who had reached at least the last eight on all their previous entries, finished second by beating WFC SFK 2000 Sarajevo 1-0, their opponents having missed an early penalty, but their record was not good enough for the only five-time European finalists to advance

Group 4
France's Juvisy topped the pool on goal difference thanks to a 3-3 draw against Icelandic side Breidablik in the only meeting between two national runners-up in the round, but both are through. Harpa Thorsteinsdottir gave Breidablik an early lead but after the break Julie Machart and Amelie Coquet turned the game. Manon Pourtalet scored an own goal and although Juvisy substitute Virginie Mendes edged her side back in front, Breidablik's Berglind Thorvaldsdottir came off the bench to level with six minutes left following fine work by Greta Mjöll Samúelsdóttir. FCM Târgu Mureş were third after beating FC Levadia Tallinn 2-1.

Group 5
Former semi-finalists Bardolino moved through with a 4-1 win against hosts Krka, who also progressed as second best runners-up, pipping NSA on goals scored. Cristiana Girelli and Melania Gabbiadini made it 2-0 by half-time, but Andreja Nikl pulled one back following a corner and Krka pushed hard for an equaliser. The space at the back allowed Alessia Tuttino and Federica Di Criscio to extend Bardolino's lead but Krka did not concede the further goal that would have knocked them out. Swansea City Ladies AFC defeated Georgian outfit FC Baia Zugdidi 2-1 for third place.

Group 6
Seasoned Russian campaigners Rossiyanka booked their place with a 4-1 defeat of Portugal's 1° Dezembro, having been four up by the 33rd minute thanks to Tatiana Skotnikova, Nadezhda Kharchenko, Nompumelelo Nyandeni and Anastasia Slonova. That allowed Irish team St Francis FC to secure second place by defeating WFC Osijek 5-3 in a game the Croatian side led by three early on.

Group 7
Duisburg, UEFA Women's Cup winners in 2008, strode through with a 4-0 win against Glasgow City FC, who finished one goal short of qualifiers Krka in the best runners-up reckoning. The German team took control in the first half as Annemieke Kiesel-Griffioen's early goal was added to by an Inka Grings double, before Simone Laudehr converted a late penalty. ŠK Slovan Bratislava made the most of their superior possession by overcoming Northern Irish hosts Newtownabbey Strikers WFC 1-0 to end in third. Lenka Mravíková's goal was decisive, though Sara Booth hit the post with a header for Newtownabbey in the closing seconds.