Goals by striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Stuart Parnaby lifted Middlesbrough over VfB Stuttgart 2-1 in the third round of the UEFA Cup on Thursday.
Hasselbaink capitalized on a bad pass in the 20th minute and Middlesbrough, buoyed by their stunning 3-0 defeat of English Premier League champions Chelsea on Saturday, found themselves 2-0 up minutes after the halftime break in the Gottlieb Daimler Stadion when Stuart Parnaby sidefooted in the second goal in the 46th.
Dutchman Hasselbaink went close to scoring a third away goal but Stuttgart raised its hopes of advancing in next week's second leg with an 86th-minute goal from Danijel Ljuboja. His free kick swerved past the outstretched hand of Boro goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and inside the left post.
PHOTO: EPA
"We haven't given up on the tie yet," said Stuttgart midfielder Silvio Meissner. "We got that goal ... we'll see what we can do back on the island."
Ljuboja's goal was the first given up by the English club in seven UEFA Cup matches, and came after Stuttgart hadn't mounted a real threat all match amid steady boos from the 15,000 home fans.
Stuttgart fired coach Giovanni Trapattoni last week and was winless in six matches.
Both Middlesbrough goals resulted from Stuttgart blunders. Otherwise the English club was content to sit back with a lead against a German club whose goal output is the second lowest in the Bundesliga.
Hasselbaink's low shot off 'keeper Timo Hildebrandt's hand came after the ball dropped into his path. Stuttgart defender Fernando Meira's pass had bounced off George Boateng's back.
Parnaby netted from a short cross by Boateng, who streaked down the right alone and almost to the post. French defender Matthieu Delpierre missed his tackle and fell, paving the way for the Dutchman to cross.
In other games, FC Thun beat Hamburg 1-0 and Slavia Prague beat Italy's Palermo 2-1 in the Czech capital.
fc thun 1 hamburg 0
In Bern, Switzerland, FC Thun won its first match under Heinz Peischl, three days after the Swiss club sacked former coach Urs Schoenenberger, who guided the club to a surprise Champions League place last season.
Brazilian midfielder Adriano netted the first in the 30th minute with a left-footed shot into the top corner.
"Thun deserved to win," said Hamburg coach Thomas Doll. "We played too much around at the back, didn't go deep and lost patience."
slavia prague 2 Palermo 1
Palermo's Andrea Barzagli scored an own goal to help Slavia Prague win 2-1.
Slavia went ahead in the 28th from Lukas Jarolim's low drive. Palermo equalized in the 40th after Kewullay Conteh's 10m drive was slightly deflected by teammate Giovanni Tedesco. Barzagli deflected in a cross from Karel Pitak in the 49th.
All 16 second-leg ties take place next Thursday. The final will be played in Eindhoven on May 10.
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