UEFA Cup Matchday Number Three

Here is a wrapup of the Thursday action in the group stage of the 2006-07 UEFA Cup competition:

GROUP A:

At Auxerre, France:

Nacho Novo (62') and Kris Boyd (84') were on target as Rangers FC twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at AJ Auxerre, a result that keeps them top of Group A with seven points.

At Tel-Aviv, Israel:

Maccabi Haifa FC have moved into a strong position in Group A after Xavier Anderson's first-half goal (21') earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over visiting FK Partizan.

GROUP B:

At Leverkusen, Germany:

Dimitar Berbatov made a match-winning return to former club Bayer 04 Leverkusen, scoring the only goal ( 36') as Tottenham Hotspur FC secured their passage to the UEFA Cup Round of 32 by blanking the Factory Squad 1-0.

At Bruges, Belgium:

FC Dinamo 1948 Bucuresti are in a strong position to qualify for the knockout rounds of the UEFA Cup after earning a 1-1 away deadlock versus Club Brugge KV. Claudiu Niculescu scored for the visitors in the 33rd minute, but Sven Vermant made a successful penalty kick in the 62nd minute to even the score for Brugge.

GROUP C:

At Liberec, Czech Republic:

FC Slovan Liberec climbed back into contention in UEFA Cup Group C thanks to an emphatic 4-1 home victory over Grasshopper-Club. Four different players each scored a goal for the winners as they stomped on the visitors.

At Seville, Spain:

UEFA Cup holders Sevilla FC claimed a comfortable 2-0 home win against SC Braga to overtake their Portuguese opponents in Group C and continue their unbeaten start as Luis Fabiano (40') and Ernesto Chevantón (76') struck at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán.

GROUP D:

At Parma, Italy:

Parma FC booked their place in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 after edging out visiting SC Heerenveen 2-1 in an entertaining Group D game. Igor Budan's double (24', 73') settled the contest and ensured the Italian side's progress following victories in their first two matches.

At Odense, Denmark:

A late equaliser from Issam Jemaa (87') denied Odense BK what would have been a vital win and put RC Lens in a strong position in UEFA Cup Group D, the substitute converting Vitorino Hilton's pass with four minutes to go to frustrate the Danish side, thus seeing the match end in a 1-1 stalemate.

GROUP E:

At Basel, Switzerland:

FC Basel 1893 striker Mladen Petrić saved a stoppage-time penalty to ensure a point for the home side after AS Nancy-Lorraine had twice led in this thrilling UEFA Cup Group E encounter in Switzerland, which ended as a 2-2 deadlock. Mile Sterjovski scored the equalizer for FCB in the 56th minute.

At Rotterdam, Netherlands:

Blackburn Rovers FC secured their place in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 as a disciplined and determined defensive display earned a 0-0 draw at Feyenoord.

GROUP F:

At Prague, Czech Republic:

AFC Ajax edged closer to the last 32 of the UEFA Cup after securing a 0-0 draw at AC Sparta Praha despite having to play much of the match with ten men.

At Barcelona:

Luis García ( 9', PK-27', 73') helped himself to a hat-trick as RCD Espanyol all but secured their place in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 with a comprehensive 6-2 home victory against this season's surprise package, SV Zulte Waregem.

GROUP G:

At Bucharest:

AFC Rapid Bucuresti and FK Mladá Boleslav are still searching for their first wins in Group G after playing out a 1-1 draw in Romania. Jan Rajnoch headed the Czech side into the lead just before the break (42') , but Marius Constantin equalised early in the second half (52').

At Paris:

Two Salim Toema goals in the first six minutes (2', 6') laid the foundations for Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC to record a memorable 4-2 victory at Paris Saint-Germain FC which puts the French side's UEFA Cup campaign in serious danger of coming to a premature end.

GROUP H:

At Newcastle:

Newcastle United FC made sure of their place in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup as Steven Taylor's first goal for the club (86') earned their third successive win, 2-1 over visiting Celta Vigo, and put them firmly in charge of Group H.

At Istanbul:

Fenerbahçe SK opened their UEFA Cup Group H account with a 3-0 home win against US Città di Palermo earned by goals from Stephen Appiah (20') , Lugano (62'), and Tuncay Sanlı.