Middlesbrough shuts out Lazio 2-0

Stuttgart player Cacau, left, of Stuttgart, battles Paulo Almeida of Benfica during their UEFA Cup Group F stage match at the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadium, Thursday. PHOTO: EPA

Boudewijn Zenden scored twice as European rookie Middlesbrough beat Lazio 2-0 in the group stage of the UEFA Cup on Thursday.

Zenden scored in the 16th minute with a 20m left-footed volley, then twisted to head past Lazio goalkeeper Fabrizio Casazza in the 71st.

"We played a very good game, especially the first half. We pressured them and played on the front foot and I think they didn't cope with that," Zenden said.

The Dutchman also scored the winner in Boro's 2-1 win over Charlton on Saturday.

Managed by Steve McClaren, who is deputy to Sven-Goran Eriksson in the England coaching setup, Boro is fifth in the Premier League -- ahead of Manchester United.

"We've got a very good feeling, a very good spirit," Zenden said. "The lads work hard for each other, it's really a team of friendly players. I think you can see that on the pitch."

Middlesbrough earned entry into the UEFA Cup, its first European competition, by winning the League Cup in February -- the first trophy in the club's 128-year history. Lazio, which won the Italian league and cup double four years ago, is 11th in Serie A.

Alain Koudou, left, of SK Beveren, fights for the ball with Damir Milinovic of Dinamo Tbilisi during their Group G match in Zagreb on Thursday. Dinamo beat Beveren 6-1. PHOTO: AFP

Boro is the only Group E team with a 100 percent record. Partizan Belgrade won its first game Thursday, a 4-0 win over Egaleo of Greece off a hat-trick from Sasa Ilic. Partizan has three points, Lazio and Villarreal one and Egaleo none.

Other clubs to win Thursday included Schalke, Besiktas, Parma, Newcastle, VfB Stuttgart, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, Austria Vienna, AZ Alkmaar, Grazer AK, Dinamo Zagreb and Lille.

Boudewijn Zenden of Middlesbrough celebrates after his first goal against Lazio Roma at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough, England on Thursday. He scored twice. PHOTO: AFP

Sixteen matches were played in the second rotation of the inaugural group stage of Europe's second tier club competition. The 40 clubs who advanced from the first round were divided into eight groups of five, with each club playing two home and two away games. The schedule was decided randomly.

group g

Stuttgart raced to its second victory with a 3-0 win over Benfica off goals from Cacau in the 31st, Silvio Meissner in the 51st and German international striker Kevin Kuranyi in the 72nd.

"We've got a very good feeling, a very good spirit."

Boudewijn Zendenof Middlesbrough

Stuttgart, coming off three straight Bundesliga defeats, is three points ahead Dinamo Zagreb and Benfica.

Dinamo earned its first points with a 6-1 win over Belgium's SK Beveren in Zagreb, Croatia. Dario Zahora scored twice with Eduardo Da Silva, Andre Mijatovic, Niko Kranjcar and Edin Mujcin also netting. Dutch club Herenveen and Beveren have no points.

Group A

Hungarian champion Ferencvaros held Feyenoord to a 1-1 draw in Budapest. Ferencvaros went ahead in the 27th minute through a Deniel Tozser free kick, with the Dutch side needing a 63rd-minute equalizer from Salomon Kalou.

Feyenoord has four points, ahead on goal difference from Schalke.

Schalke beat 10-man Hearts 1-0 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Cassio Lincoln scored with a long-range right-footed shot in the 72nd minute. Hearts went a man down after 48 minutes when Patrick Kisnorbo was booked for a second yellow card.

Ferencvaros and Basel have one point each, Hearts have none.

Group B

Midfielder Alessandro Budel scored in the 79th minute to give Parma a 1-0 win over Steaua Bucharest. Parma, struggling at second-last in the Italian league, rested key players ahead of its league match against Palermo.

Besiktas beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 in Turkey off goals from Ali Gunes, John Carew and Ibrahim Akin. Besiktas, Bilbao, Steaua Bucharest and Parma all have three points. Standard Liege has none.

Group C

Austria Vienna beat Spain's Real Zaragoza 1-0, off a Radoslav Gilewicz goal.

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk registered its second win with a 2-1 victory at Dutch side FC Utrecht. Ruslan Rotan and Dmitri Semochko scored for Dnipro, while Darl Douglas scored a late consolation goal for Utrecht.

Dnipro leads the group with six points, followed by Real Zaragoza and Vienna on three and Club Brugge and Utrecht on zero.

group d

Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy scored as Newcastle beat Dinamo Tbilisi 2-0 to keep its 100 percent record.

Sporting Lisbon beat Greek side Panionios 4-1 through goals from Hugo Viana, Liedson, Douala and Custodio Castro. Newcastle has six points, Sporting and Sochaux three and Panionios and Tbilisi zero.

Group F

Three goals from Austria international Roland Kollmann helped Grazer AK beat Polish side Amica Wronki 3-1. Dutch side AZ Alkmaar beat Auxerre 2-0 off two first half goals from Stein Huysegems. Grazer has four points, Alkmaar and Rangers three, Auxerre one and Wronki zero.

Group H

Matt Moussilou grabbed the winner as Lille beat Zenit St. Petersburg 2-1. Gregory Tafforeau put Lille ahead in the 35th minute, only for Alexander Kerzhakov to level in the 39th. Moussilou pounced in the 42nd to give Lille its first win.

Carlos Aranda scored an early goal and Julio Baptista converted a penalty Thursday as Sevilla downed Alemannia Aachen 2-0. Zenit, Sevilla, Lille and Aachen all have three points, with AEK Athens on zero. The next rotation is Nov. 25.