UEFA Cup Review 1st Round 2nd Leg - Crash and Blackburn

It was a night of scrapes, struggles and smash and grab jobs for the British clubs. All except Blackburn who failed dismally to overcome Larissa, a side that finished 10th in the Greek top flight last season.

Going into the game 2-0 down from the 1st leg, Blackburn needed to win by 2 or more goals to progress. But that became 4, after a nightmare start. The ball was flicked on from a throw-in to Cleyton at the edge of the box. After side-stepping the first challenge, he drove into the box before lashing the shot into the corner past Friedel. Matt Derbyshire equalised on the stroke of half-time through a penalty, and then Stephen Warnock gave Rovers the lead on the night with a well-taken volley. But Larissa held on till full-time to claim a famous victory and progress to the next round.

Aberdeen completed a great week for Scottish football, after they went through to the group stages on the away goals rule. Jamie Langfield was in inspired form for the Dons, making several world-class saves to keep their opponents Dnipro at bay. Aberdeen took the lead through Darren Mackie's diving header in the first half, before the Ukrainians hit the woodwork 3 times. They equalised through Vorobey after Considine's deflection bounced open, but the away team held firm to go through.

Everton went through courtesy of a lucky 3-2 win away to FC Metalist. Tied 1-1 from the first leg, the Toffees needed to score, but fell behind to an Edmar strike. The Ukrainians were dominating proceedings, however Pienaar's drive was deflected by Lescott to level the scores. Metalist were soon back in the lead when Mahdoufi fired home, but once again Everton rallied, and James McFadden scored into the corner from the edge of the box. They completed the job when a fine run and finish from Victor Anichebe gave the England side a 4-3 aggregate victory.

With Spurs leading 6-1 from the first leg against Famagusta, their game yesterday afternoon was largely irrelevant, although Tottenham's finishing, once again, looked far from convincing. Bent and Defoe wasted several chances before the Cypriot side took the lead through Fabinho. However, substitute Robbie Keane was on hand to equalise for the Londoners, when his shot was fired high into the net.

Finally, Bolton continued their undefeated run with a 1-0 victory against Rabotnicki. In a poor game, substitute Nicolas Anelka scored the only goal of the game from a header, his first touch.

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UEFA Cup Review - Andy Johnson has a 'mare

In my opinion, if you miss one penalty, you should not be allowed to take another. Doubt creeps into your mind, your focus has gone, you're nervous and well, history does not bode well for 1st time missers. Remember Martin Palermo who missed 3 in one game?



Ignoring this, Andy Johnson took 2 and missed 2 last night in the 1-1 draw with FC Metalist (what a name!), he just can't seem to buy a goal. Lescott opened the scoring with a header before Seweryn Gancarczyk was sent off. Johnson then missed the 1st of his penalties before Venans Zeze equalised. Babych picked up his 2nd yellow and gave away a penalty in the last minute. Johnson did not duly oblige and blazed the ball high over.

Spurs had a better night, creaming Famagusta 6-1 at White Hart Lane. Kaboul, Dawson, Keane, Bent and then a superb double from Defoe left the away side 6-0 down before Anton Zlogar pulled a late goal back. Tottenham are surely now heavy favourites to progress.

Blackburn face an uphill struggle after they lost 2-0 to Larissa in Greece. Some torrid defending from Rovers led to their demise, with Ibrahim Bakayoko and Cleyton taking full advantage by scoring the goals.

Bolton continued their disappointing form, by only managing a fortunate 1-1 draw away to Rabotnicki Kometal (in no way related to Sonic the Hedgehog). Anelka missed an open goal before Nemanja Milisavljevic gave the Macedonian's a deserved lead. Abdoulaye Meite pounced on an error from keeper Filip Madzovski to tap in a late equaliser.

Finally, Aberdeen failed to break the deadlock against a spirited Dnipro side. The Dons created numerous chances but were unable to find their way past goalkeeper Vyacheslav Kernozenko who was in inspired form. They face a tough trip to Ukraine in 2 weeks time.

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