English Premier League Fulham reached the Europa League play-off round on Thursday, where they were joined by free-scoring AS Roma and Galatasary.
Andrew Johnson scored twice to add to Dickson Etuhu’s opener as Fulham saw off Vetra of Lithuania 3-0 for a 6-0 aggregate win in their third qualifying round, second-leg clash at Craven Cottage.
“We were good value for our three goals, as we were in the first leg,” Fulham coach Roy Hodgson said. “I am pleased with our attitude, pleased with the quality of our play and pleased with our passing.”
PHOTO: EPA
Galatasary of Turkey, coached by former Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard, crushed Israel’s Maccabi Netanya 6-1 for a 10-1 aggregate score, with Congo striker Shabani Nonda grabbing a hat-trick.
Veteran striker Francesco Totti, who scored twice in the first leg, also claimed a hat-trick as AS Roma beat AA Gent 7-1 in Belgium for a 10-2 aggregate.
Dejan Lekic was another hat-trick star as 1991 European champions Red Star Belgrade overturned a 2-0 first-leg deficit to beat Georgia’s Dinamo Tbilisi 5-2 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate.
Lekic completed his hat-trick in the 88th minute, just when 1981 Cup Winners Cup champions Dinamo were in sight of an away goals victory.
In a fiercely-contested tie, where the Georgians had led 4-1 on aggregate at one stage, both sides finished with 10 men.
Scotland suffered a double dose of misery.
Mark McGhee’s Aberdeen, humiliated 5-1 at home by Sigma Olomouc in the first leg, slumped to a 3-0 defeat in the return tie in the Czech Republic for an embarrassing 8-1 aggregate exit.
Tomas Janotka, Marek Kascak, with a penalty, and Michal Hubnik scored the goals in the first half. Steaua Bucharest, the 1986 European champions, defeated Motherwell 3-1 for a 6-1 aggregate victory.
“We had two clear penalty shouts and were disappointed not to get the second goal. The belief would have come from that,” Motherwell manager Jim Gannon said. “I knew the second goal would be critical. If we got it, the mood and atmosphere in the stadium would change in our favor, but, if they got it, it would have been the opposite.”
There will be no European adventure this season for 37-year-old former Celtic, Manchester United and Barcelona striker Henrik Larsson, whose Helsingborgs IF side lost on penalties to Sarajevo.
Larsson was forced to miss Thursday’s tie after breaking a kneecap in the first leg in Sweden.
The 35 third qualifying round winners go into the play-off draw where they will be joined by the 15 losers from the Champions League final qualifiers, as well as 26 other leading sides which include the likes of Everton, Aston Villa, Werder Bremen, Valencia, Lazio and Ajax.
The winners of the 38 play-off ties will be joined by the losers of the 10 Champions League play-offs in the group stages of the tournament.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
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Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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