Dynamo Top Fire

At Houston:

In Sunday's lone Major League Soccer contest, Kei Kamara (21'), Ricardo Clark (38'), and Stuart Holden (PK-84', game-winner) provided the scoring punch that enabled the Houston Dynamo to edge the visiting Chicago Fire 3-2.

MLS STANDINGS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

1. Columbus (GP: 21; GD: +8; PTS: 36)
2. Chicago (GP: 20; GD: +5; PTS: 32)
3. DC United (GP: 20; GD: +2; PTS: 28)
4. Toronto FC (GP: 20; GD: -3; PTS: 27)
5. New England (GP: 18; GD: -4; PTS: 24)
6. Kansas City (GP: 18; GD: -5; PTS: 21)
7. New York (GP: 21; GD: -21; PTS: 10)

WESTERN CONFERENCE:
1. Houston (GP: 22; GD: +10; PTS: 38)
2. Los Angeles (GP: 20; GD: +4; PTS: 31)
3. Colorado (GP: 20; GD: +8; PTS: 30)
4. Seattle (GP: 20; GD: +5; PTS: 29)
5. Chivas USA (GP: 18; GD: 0; PTS: 27)
6. Real Salt Lake (GP: 20; GD: +5; PTS: 26)
7. FC Dallas (GP: 20; GD: -1; PTS: 23)
8. San Jose (GP: 20; GD: -13; PTS: 17)

Galaxy Knock Off Revs In Opener; Crew, RSL, Rapids Register Shutout Wins

Four games were contested Saturday in Major League Soccer.

At Foxborough, Massachusetts:

Goals from Landon Donovan (21') and Jovan Kirovski (52') paced the Los Angeles Galaxy to a 2-1 road win over the New England Revolution.

At San Francisco:

Second half tallies through the courtesy of Alejandro Moreno (69'), Robbie Rogers (73'), and Adam Moffat (86') busted open a scoreless deadlock as the Columbus Crew stretched their winning streak to four games with a 3-0 road win over the San Jose Earthquakes.

At Sandy, Utah:

Robbie Findley provided the only goal of the match (62') as Real Salt Lake blanked Seattle Sounders FC 1-0 at home.

At Commerce City, Colorado:

Conor Casey's first-half hat trick (4', 23', 45'+2) plus Pablo Mastroeni's opening goal at 1 minute marked an opening-half scoring barrage as the Colorado Rapids handed Chivas USA their fifth straight defeat, 4-0 at home.

Galacticos Too Much For TFC

At Toronto:

Raul scored twice as Real Madrid made short work of Toronto FC 5-1 Friday night in an exhibition match.

Europa League Playoff Round Draw

Here are the results of the draw that took place Friday for the playoff round for group stage berths in the Europa League. The winners of these two-game series will be joined in the group stage by the losers of the playoff round series for UEFA Champions League group stages.

All opening matches will take place on August 20 with the return contests on August 27.

The home clubs of the opening contests are listed first.

Sivasspor vs. FC Shakhtar Donetsk

Brondy IF vs. Hertha Berlin

Athletic Bilbao vs. Tromso IL

FK Sarajevo vs. CFR 1907 Cluj

SK Rapid Vienna vs. Aston Villa

Steaua Bucharest vs. St. Patrick's Athletic FC

NK Maribor vs. Sparta Prague

Zenit Saint Petersburg vs. CD Nacional

Genoa vs. Odensk BK

Dinamo Bucharest vs. FC Slovan Liberec

EA Guingamp vs. Hamburg

FC Sion vs. Fenerbahce

SK Sturm Graz vs. FC Metalist Kharkiv

Slavia Prague vs. Red Star Belgrade

SL Benfica vs. FC Vorskla Poltava

FC Vaslui vs. AEK Athens

Staebek IF vs. Valencia

PAOK FC vs. SC Heerenveen

Dinamo Zagreb vs. Heart of Midlothian FC

Werden Bremen vs. FK Aktobe

Everton vs. SK Sigma Olomouc

FC Bate Borisov vs. PFC Litex Lovech

NAC Breda vs. Villarreal

KKS Lech Poznan vs. Club Brugge KV

Fulham vs. FC Amkar Perm

Galatasaray vs. FC Levadia Tallinn

FK Teplice vs. Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC

FC Metalluhr Donetsk vs. FK Austria Vienna

FC Twente vs. FK Qarabag

MFK Kosice vs. AS Roma

Dinamo Moscow vs. CSKA Sofia

KRC Genk vs. LOSC Lille Metropole

Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv FC vs. PSV Eindhoven

Lazio vs. IF Elfsborg

Trabzonspor vs. Toulouse

Partizan Belgrade vs. MSK Zilina

FK Baki vs. FC Basel 1893

Ajax Amsterdam vs. SK Slovan Bratislava

Champions League Playoff Round Draw

At Nyon, Switzerland:

Here are the results from Friday's draw for the playoff round of the UEFA Champions League. The opening matches of these two-game sets will take place on August 18 and 19, with the return contests on August 25 and 26. The winners would reach the group stage of the Champions League, while the losers will play in the group stage of the Europa League (the ex-UEFA Cup). Here are the matchups with the opening games' hosts listed first.

FC Sheriff vs. Olympiacos

FC Copenhagen vs. APOEL FC

Celtic vs. Arsenal

FC Timisoara vs. VfB Stuttgart

Sporting vs. Fiorentina

Panathinaikos vs. Atletico Madrid

PFC Levski Sofia vs. Debreceni VSC

Lyon vs. RSC Anderlecht

FC Red Bull Salzburg vs. Maccabi Haifa FC

FK Ventspils vs. FC Zurich

CONCACAF Champions League: Preliminary Round Concludes

Thursday marked the conclusion of the preliminary round of the CONCACAF Champions League.

At La Chorrera, Panama:

Arabe Unido, thanks to Victor Mendieta's goal at 28 minutes, took game two of their two-match set at home against CD Olimpia 1-0 and took the series (2-2 on aggregate) due to the away goals rule.

At Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago:

San Juan Jabloteh wiped out the 2-0 road setback from last week as they defeated San Francisco FC 3-0 at home in game two and won the series 3-2 on aggregate. Marvin Oliver scored twice (61', 76') for the victorious Trinidian club.

At San Pedro Sula, Honduras:

Talk about wiping out a three-goal deficit after the opening match, Carlos Pavon's hat trick (18', 73', 80') powered Real Espana to a 6-0 home demolition of Liberia Mia in game two and defeated the Costa Rican club 6-3 on aggregate.

Hoops Stun Dynamo 1-0

At Frisco, Texas:

In Thursday only Major League Soccer match, Jeff Cunningham scored the only goal of the match at 20 minutes as FC Dallas knocked off the visiting Houston Dynamo 1-0.

Europa League: St. Patrick's Reach Playoff Round; Cottagers, Vienna and Istanbul Rivals, and Red Star Belgrade, Too

The third qualifying round for the 2009-10 UEFA Europa League concluded on Thursday.

At Samara, Russia:

Declan O'Brien scored the series winner at 79 minutes as St. Patrick's Athletic FC, despite dropping game two 3-2 on the road to PFC Krylya Sovetov Samara, still won the two-match series (3-3 on aggregrate) due to the away goals rule.

At Burgas, Bulguaria:

PSV Eindhoven, thanks to Mamoutou Coulibaly's own goal at 30 minutes, defeated PFC Cherno More Varna 1-0 on the road in game two and won their two-game series 2-0 on aggregate.

At Baku, Azerbaijan:

Elvin Mammadov (32') and Rashad Sadygov (80') each scored a goal as FK Qarabag downed visiting FC Honka Espoo 2-1 in game two to wrap up their two-match series 3-1 on aggregate.

At Kosice, Slovakia:

MKF Kosice, thanks to goals from Jan Novak (2'), Peter Batista (55'), and Robert Cicman (90'+1), defeated visiting FK Slavija Sarajevo 3-1 in game two and won their two-game series 5-1 on aggregate.

At Liberec, Czech Republic:

Andrej Keric (17') and Jan Nezmar (22') provided the goal power that rocketed FC Slovan Liberec to a 2-0 game-two home win over FC Vaduz and a 3-0 aggregate series triumph.

At Wronki, Poland:

Despite dropping a 2-1 home decision in game two to Fredrikstad FK, KKS Lech Poznan still easily won their two-match set with their Norwegian opponents 7-3 on aggregate.

At Tel Aviv, Israel:

Michael Zandberg scored at 14 minutes as Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC gained a 1-1 home stalemate in game two with IFK Gothenburg and won their two-match set 4-2 on aggregate.

At Koprivnica, Croatia:

Sigurd Rushfeldt's double (14', 82') accounted for all the scoring as Tromso IL blanked NK Slaven Koprivnica 2-0 on the road in game two and took the two-match series 4-1 on aggregate.

At Villeneuve d'Asca, France:

Yohan Cabaye's goal at 73 minutes helped guide LOSC Lille-Metropole to a second straight 2-0 win, this time at home in game two, over FK Sevojno, and a 4-0 aggregate win for the two-match series.

At Graz, Austria:

Andreas Holzl scored twice (43', 49') as SK Sturm Graz smothered visiting FK Petrovac 5-0 in game two and won their two-match set 7-1 on aggregate.

At Lahti, Finland:

Joseph Akpala scored what proved to be the series-winning goal at 76 minutes as Club Brugge KV gained a 1-1 road draw in game two with FC Lahti and won the series 4-3 on aggregate.

At Vienna, Austria:

Tomas Jun (45'), Emin Sulimani (63'), Mamadou Diabang (81'), and Rubin Okotie (90'+3) each tallied a goal as Austria Vienna defeated visiting FK Vojvodina 4-2 in game two and won their two-match set 5-3 on aggregate.

At Berne, Switzerland:

Goals from Fernando Llorente (26') and Iker Muniain (72') lifted Athletic Bilbao to a 2-1 home win over BSC Yound Boys in game two, and the series due to the away goals rule (2-2 on aggregate).

At Basel, Switzerland:

Alexander Frei doubled (29', PK-80') as FC Basel 1893 defeated visiting KR Reykjavik 3-1 in game two and won the two-match set on aggregate, 5-3.

At Nicosia, Cyprus:

After Sebastian Ignacio Gonzalez Valdes scored at 81 minutes to enable APOP/Kinyras Peyias FC to take game two of their two-match set 2-1 at home to level the two-match series at 3-3 on aggregate with an even number of away goals, Christopher Trimmel scored the series-winning goal in overtime (111') to claim the series 4-3 on aggregate for Rapid Vienna.

At Istanbul, Turkey:

Shabani Nonda's second-half hat trick (53', 57', 90'+1) completed an offensive barrage that saw Galatasaray demolish visiting Maccabi Netanya FC 6-0 in game two and handily win their two-game series 10-1 on aggregate.

At Breda, Netherlands:

Matthew Amoah (25'), Anthony Lurling (45'), and Kees Kwakman (81') each contributed a goal as NAC Breda took out visiting KSP Polonia Warsaw 3-1 in game two and 4-1 on aggregate for the two-legged tie.

At Budapest, Hungary:

Andre Santos scored at 9 minutes as Fenerbahce gained a 1-1 road draw with Budapest Honved FC in game two and won their two-match series 6-2 on aggregate.

At Boras, Sweden:

James Keene scored both goals (16', 32') as IF Elfsborg blanked visiting SC Braga 2-0 in game two to take their two-match set 4-1 on aggregate.

At Warsaw, Poland:

Max Von Schlebrugge doubled (6', 59') as Brondby IF gained an important 2-2 road draw with Legia Warsaw in game two to take the series (3-3 on aggregate) on the away goals rule.

At Olomouc, Czech Republic:

Goals from Tomas Janotka (5'), Marek Kascak (PK-13'), and Michael Hubnik (45'+1), all in the first half, powered SK Sigma Olomouc to a 3-0 overpowering of visiting Aberdeen in game two and a 8-1 aggregate win for the two-match series.

At Derry, Northern Ireland:

Marco Antonio Malachias scored the series winner at 70 minutes as CSKA Sofia gained a 1-1 road draw with Derry City FC in the series closer and won the two-match set 2-1 on aggregate.

At Domzale, Slovenia:

FC Metalluhr Donetsk, powered by goals courtesy of Henrik Mkhitaryan (67'), Musawengosi Mguni (73'), and Velizar Dimitov (PK-85'), all in the second half, broke open a close second game and ended up overpowering hosts NK IB Lubljana and winning the two-match series 5-0 on aggregate.

At Kharkov, Ukraine:

Papa Gueye (12') and Denys Oliynyk (60') provided the scoring that enabled FC Metalist Kharkiv to blank visiting HNK Rijeka 2-0 in game two and take the two-set match 4-1 on aggregate.

At Odense, Denmark:

Peter Utaka scored twice (53', 76') as Odense BK overpowered visiting FK Rabotnicki 3-0 in game two and won the series on aggregate, 7-3.

At Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina:

Damir Hadzic (38') and Alen Avdic (78') scored for FK Sarajevo as the hosts took game two at home 2-1 over Helsingborgs IF to deadlock at series at 3-3, with each team scoring once on the road. After 30 scoreless overtime minutes, the Bosnian club won the penalty-kick shootout 5-4 to advance to the playoff round.

At Gent, Belgium:

Francesco Totti's hat trick (35', 56', PK-64') and Daniele De Rossi's double (58', 74') helped AS Roma crush KAA Gent 7-1 on the road in game two and complete their two-match demolition of the Belgian club 10-2 on aggregate.

At Hamburg, Germany:

Despite losing game two 1-0 at home to Randers FC, Hamburg still won their two-match set 4-1 on aggregate.

At Andrie, Scotland:

Bogdan Stancu (67', 84') and Petre Marin (PK-55') paced Steaua Bucharest to a 3-1 home win in game two over Motherwell FC and a 6-1 aggregate win for the series.

At Thessalonika, Greece:

Thanks to their 2-1 win last week in Norway, even with their 1-0 home loss in game two, PAOK FC still won their two-match series with Valerenga Fotball (2-2 on aggregate) because they scored more away goals in Norway than the Norwegian club did in Greece.

At Belgrade, Serbia:

Thanks to Dejan Lekic's hat trick (26', 45'+2, 88'), Red Star Belgrade overcame their 2-0 road defeat from last week by beating FC Dinamo Tbilisi 5-2 at home in game two and won their series 5-4 on aggregate.

At London:

Dickson Etuhu (57') and Andrew Johnson (80', 84') provided the scoring punch that powered Fulham to a second successive 3-0 beatdown of FK Vetra, this time at home, and the Cottagers took the two-set series 6-0 on aggregate.

At Split, Croatia:

Ivan Lietava scored the game's only goal---and the series winner---at 76 minutes as MSK Zilina defeated Hajduk Split 1-0 on the road in game two and took the series on aggregate, 2-1.

At Guimaraes, Portugal:

Elran Atar scored the only goal of the match (31') as Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv FC defeated Pacos de Ferreira 1-0 on the road in game two and took their two-match series 2-0 on aggregate.

The winning clubs have advanced to the playoff round, for the right to go to the group stage.

Lionel Messi Double Helps Barca Sink Sounders

At Seattle:

Lionel Messi doubled in the first half as FC Barcelona dominated Seattle Sounders FC 4-0 Wednesday night in an exhibition match before 66,848 fans at Qwest Field.

Cruz Azul Claim Spot In Group Stage; Red Bulls Knocked Out By W Connection

Two more clubs won their preliminary-round series in the CONCACAF Champions League on Wednesday, claiming spots in the group stage as a result.

At East Rutherford, New Jersey:

Andre Toussaint's late first-half brace (40', 45'+1) lifted W Connection to a 2-1, come-from-behind road win over the New York Red Bulls in game two of their two-match series and a 4-3 aggregate victory in the series to lock up a spot in the group stage.

At Mexico City:

Despite being held to a 0-0 home draw in game two by Club Sport Herediano, Cruz Azul still won their two-game set with the Costa Rican club on aggregate, 6-2.

Tigres Capture SuperLiga Crown

At Bridgeview, Illinois:

Itamar Batista Da Silva's equalizer for Tigres at 43 minutes sent the final of the North American SuperLiga, deadlocked at 1-1 after regulation time, into the penalty-kick shootout on Wednesday (there were no overtime periods), where Gaston Fernandez, Lucas Ayala, Armando Pulido, and Itamar Batista Da Silva all converted as the Mexican club won the crown, topping the Chicago Fire in the shootout 4-3.

Last Minute Series Win For Sheriff; FC Zurich and Bhoys Overcome Home Defeats To Advance

The third qualifying round for the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League concluded with ten games on Wednesday.

Champions Path:

At Borisov, Belarus:

Igor Tigirlas scored what proved to be the series-winning goal at 14 minutes, as FK Ventspils, despite dropping a 2-1 road decision in game two against FC BATE Borisov, still won the series (2-2 on aggregate) on away goals.

At Sofia, Bulgaria:

Hristo Yovov (64') and Georgi Hristov (80') provided the only goal of both game two and the two-match series as PFC Levski Sofia defeated FK Baki 2-0, both in Wednesday's contest, and the series on aggregate.

At Prague, Czech Republic:

After last week's scoreless draw in Moldova, Adam Hlousek scored at 15 minutes to put SK Slavia Prague up 1-0 for both game two and the series, only to see Jose Nadson score the series winner for FC Sheriff in second-half stoppage time (90'+3) with the only road goal of the two-match set, sending the Moldovan club into the playoff round for a shot at group stage play. The final score was 1-1 for the game and series.

At Debrecen, Hungary:

Adamo Coulibaly's goal at 70 minutes lifted Decrecen VSC to a second successive 1-0 win over FC Lavadia Tallinn, this time at home in game two as the Hungarian club took the two-game set 2-0 on aggregate.

At Maribor, Slovenia:

FC Zurich, thanks to goals from Dusan Djuric (21'), Xavier Margairaz (45'), and Adrian Nikci (76'), overcame last week's 3-2 home defeat by smothering NK Maribor 3-0 on the road in game two and won the two-match set 5-3 on aggregate.

At Belgrade, Serbia:

Despite dropping game two, 1-0 on the road, to Partizan Belgrade, APOEL FC still won their two-game set 2-1 on aggregate.

At Athens, Greece:

Enzo Maresca (35') and Diogo (56') provided the goalpower that lifted Olympiacos to a 2-0 home win over SK Slovan Bratislava in game two and a 4-0 aggregate series win over the Slovakian club.

At Oslo, Norway:

A 0-0 road deadlock in game two was good enough for FC Copenhagen as the Lions took the two-match set with Staebek IF 3-1 on aggregate.

Non-Champions Path:

At Moscow:

Scott McDonald (45') and Georgios Samaras (90'+1) contributed the goalpower as Celtic FC overturned last week's home loss by beating FC Dinamo Moscow 2-0 on the road in game two and won the two-match series 2-1 on aggregate.

At Timisoara, Romania:

The two goals scored last week in Ukraine by FC Timisoara proved to be enough as the two-match set, after a 0-0 stalemate at home in game two, enabled the Romanian club to take the two match set (2-2 on aggregate) thanks to the away goals rule, eliminating Shaktar Donetsk, last season's UEFA Cup winners, in the process.

All the teams who won their two-match sets in the third qualifying round will compete in the playoff round for places in the group stage. They will be joined by Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Fiorentina, VfB Stuttgart, and Lyon. The teams that lost their two-match sets will move on to the playoff round for Europa League group stage berths.

DC United and Pachuca Advance; TCF Eliminated

Three clubs won their way into the group stage of the 2009-10 CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday night.

At Bayamon, Puerto Rico:

A 0-0 game-two home deadlock with Toronto FC enabled the Puerto Rico Islanders to take their two-match preliminary round series 1-0 on aggregate.

At San Salvador, El Salvador:

In game two between DC United and Club Deportivo Luis Angel Firpo, with last week's match in Washington deadlocked at 1-1, the Salvadorian club's Leandro Lourenco Franco put the hosts ahead 1-0 on a successful penalty kick at 39 minutes, only to see the visitors' Christian Gomez tie it up at 42 minutes. That's how game two ended, a 1-1 draw. After 30 scoreless overtime minutes, DC United, with Chris Pontius, Danny Sztelea, Ben Olsen, Marc Burch, and Christian Gomez all converting their penalty kicks, took the shootout 5-4 to advance to the group stage.

At Jalapa, Guatemala:

Ulises Mendivil's double (21', 36') helped guide Pachuca to a 3-1 road win over Deportivo Jalapa in game two, thus finishing the Mexican club's two-match demolition of their Guatemalan opponents 10-1 on aggregate.

Europa League: SC Vaslui Top Cypriot Club To Advance

At Nicosia, Cyprus:

In Tuesday's only contest in the third qualifying round of the Europa League, Wesley Lopes de Silva scored at 60 minutes as SC Vaslui gained a 1-1 road draw in game two with AC Omonia, sending the Romanian club into the playoff round for a berth in the Europa League's group stage, winning their two-game set 3-1 on aggregate.

Maccabi Haifa, Anderlecht, RB Salzburg Advance; Panathinaikos and Sporting, Too

The third qualifying round for the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League continued on Tuesday as five clubs advanced to the playoff round.

Champions Path:

At Haifa, Israel:

Despite trailing 3-0 at home after 15 minutes, Maccabi Haifa FC came from behind to defeat FK Aktobe 4-3 in match two to win their two-match series 4-3 on aggregate. Yaniv Katan (26'), Eyal Golsa (34'), and Vladimer Dvalishvili (59', 62') provided the scoring that sent the hosts into the playoff round for the right to go into the group stage.

At Zagreb, Croatia:

Dusan Svento (33') and Robin Nelisse (83') each tallied once as Red Bull Salzburg defeated Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 on the road in game two, and the two-game set 3-2 on aggregagte.

Non-Champions Path:

At Athens, Greece:

Thanks to goals courtesy of Jose Sarriegi (45'), Kostas Katsouranis (54'), and Dimitris Salpingidis (89'), Panathinaikos overturned their 3-1 road win from last week with a 3-0 home victory over Sparta Prague, enabling them to take the two-match series 4-3 on aggregate.

At Sivas, Turkey:

Despite a 3-1 road setback in game two with Sivasspor, RSC Anderlecht still won their two-game set 6-3 on aggregate. Jelle Van Damme scored the Belgian club's goal at 34 minutes.

At Enschede, Netherlands:

Thanks to Peter Wisgerhof's second-half stoppage-time own goal (90'+1), Sporting gained a 1-1 road deadlock in game two against FC Twenete and because of the away goals rule, advanced to the playoff round for a group stage berth. Those were the only two goals of the series.

The five clubs that lost their series today are still not done with European play. They would move on to the playoff round for group stage places in the Europa League.

Wizards Can Coach And Assistant

With the club mired next to bottom in the Eastern Conference in MLS, and with their defense shredded the other night by Jeff Cunningham, perhaps this change was inevitable.

Naze Millionaires Thump Monomotapa United

At Owerri, Nigeria:

In Sunday's lone CAF Champions League contest, Ike Thankgod (3'), Uche Agba (26'), and Ikechukwu Ibenegbu (46') each tallied once as Heartland FC tripled visiting Monomotapa United FC 3-1 in a Group B contest.

GROUP B STANDINGS:

1. TP Mazembe (GP: 2; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Etoile du Sahel (GP: 2; GD: 0; PTS: 3)
3. Heartland FC (GP: 2; GD: 0; PTS: 3)
4. Monomotapa United FC (GP: 2; GD: -1; PTS: 3)

Quakes Batter Sounders

At Santa Clara, California:

Goals from Cornell Glen (54'), Darren Kuckerby (78'), and Chris Wondolowski (84'), along with Osvaldo Alonso's own goal at 2 minutes, enabled the San Jose Earthquakes to smash their four-game winless streak with a 4-0 home blasting of Seattle Sounders FC in Sunday's lone Major League Soccer contest.

MLS STANDINGS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

1. Columbus (GP: 20; GD: +5; PTS: 33)
2. Chicago (GP: 19; GD: +6; PTS: 32)
3. DC United (GP: 20; GD: +2; PTS: 28)
4. Toronto FC (GP: 20; GD: -3; PTS: 27)
5. New England (GP: 17; GD: -3; PTS: 27)
6. Kansas City (GP: 18; GD: -5; PTS: 21)
7. New York (GP: 21; GD: -21; PTS: 10)

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

1. Houston (GP: 20; GD: +10; PTS: 35)
2. Seattle (GP: 19; GD: +6; PTS: 29)
3. Los Angeles (GP: 19; GD: +3; PTS: 28)
4. Chivas USA (GP: 17; GD: +4; PTS: 27)
5. Colorado (GP: 19; GD: +4; PTS: 27)
6. Real Salt Lake (GP: 19; GD: +4; PTS: 23)
7. FC Dallas (GP: 19; GD: -2; PTS: 20)
8. San Jose (GP: 19; GD: -10; PTS: 17)

Barca Top Galaxy 2-1 At Rose Bowl

At Pasadena, California:

Before the largest crowd to watch a soccer match in the United States since the 1994 World Cup---93,137 at the Rose Bowl---FC Barcelona defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 in an international exhibition match on Saturday night.

Pedro Rodriguez (11') and Jeffren Suarez (67') scored for the reigning Spanish and European champs, while David Beckham scored for the Galaxy in the 45th minute on a free kick from just outside Barca's penalty area.

Crew Blank Rapids; Jeff Cunningham Leads Hoops Blitzkrieg; Dynamo Hold Off DCU

Five Saturday matches were contested in Major League Soccer:

At Foxborough, Massachusetts:

Edgaras Jankauskas' equalizer at 76 minutes enabled the New England Revolution to gain a 1-1 home draw with Toronto FC, whose goal came at 34 minutes from Dwayne De Rosario.

At Houston:

A first-half double by Brian Ching (38', 39') helped the Houston Dynamo hold off visiting DC United 4-3.

At Frisco, Texas:

Jeff Cunningham's quadruple (39', PK-66', 75', 89') and David Ferreira's double (42', 78') sparked FC Dallas to a 6-0 home annihilation of the Kansas City Wizards.

At Bridgeview, Illinois:

Patrick Nyarko scored the only goal (76') of the Chicago Fire's 1-0 home win over Real Salt Lake.

At Commerce City, Colorado:

Chad Marshall scored the only goal of the match at 39 minute as the Columbus Crew blanked the Colorado Rapids 1-0 on the road.

Kano Pillars Take Match With Al-Merreikh

Group stage action in the CAF Champions League continued on Saturday.

Group A:

At Kano, Nigeria:

Goals from Victor Namo (18', 33') and Moses Ogaga (89') pace Kano Pillars FC to a 3-1 home win over Al-Merreikh.

GROUP A STANDINGS:

1. Kano Pillars FC (GP: 2; GD: +2; PTS: 4)
2. Al-Hilal (GP: 2; GD: +1; PTS: 4)
3. ZESCO United FC (GP: 2; GD: -1; PTS: 1)
4. Al-Merreikh (GP: 2; GD: -2; PTS: 1)

Group B:

At Sousse, Tunisia:

Etliole du Sahel claimed a 2-1 home decision over TP Mazembe. Ammar Jemal (PK-35') and Aymen Abdennour (63') provided the scoring for the hosts.

Al-Hilal Blank Visiting Zambian Club

Group stage play in the CAF Champions League resumed on Friday with one game in Group A.

At Khartoum, Sudan:

Usama Altawon's goal at 9 minutes held up as Al-Hilal blanked visiting ZESCO United FC 1-0.

Sir Bobby Robson, R. I. P.

Sir Bobby Robson passed away on Friday at age 76 after his fight with cancer.

Here is an article on Sir Bobby's distinguished career, as well as another obituary.

Red Bulls Gain Road Draw In Series Opener

The first week of action in the preliminary round of the 2009-10 CONCACAF Champions League concluded Thursday.

At Marbella, Trinidad and Tobago:

Dane Richards (47') and Ernst Oebster (59') provided the goalpower that enabled the New York Red Bulls to gain a 2-2 road draw in game one of their two-match set with W Connection. The hosts got goals from Jonathan Fana (40') and Hughtun Hector (71').

At Heredia, Costa Rica:

A hat trick from Javier Antonio Orozco Penuelas (49', 57', 74') helped Cruz Azul smother Herediano 6-2 on the road in the series opener for both clubs.

At Tegucigalpa, Honduras:

Second-half tallies from Jocimar Nascimento (PK-48') and Everaldo Ferreira (56') lifted Olimpia to a come-from-behind game-one 2-1 home win over Arabe Unido.

Europa League: Action From The Third Qualifying Round

The remaining 34 two-match sets in the third qualifying round for the 2009-10 Europa League got under way on Thursday.

At Tbilisi, Georgia:

Goals from Giorgi Merebashvili (41') and Levan Khmaladze (87') sparked Dinamo Tbilisi to a 2-0 home win over Red Star Belgrade in game one of the clubs' two-game series.

At Skopje, Macedonia:

Caca's hat trick (20', 34', 79'), combined with Chris Sorensen's successful penalty kick at 62 minutes, lifted OB Odense to a 4-3 road win over FK Rabotnicki in game one of the two clubs' two-match, home-and-away, total goals series.

At Podgorica, Montenegro:

SK Sturm Graz, thanks to tallies courtesy of Mario Hass (PK-64') and Fabian Lamotte (76'), came from behind to edge FK Petrovac 2-1 on the road in game one of their two-match set.

At Helsinki, Finland:

Elvin Mammadov scored the only goal of the match at 69 minutes as Qarabag defeated FC Honka 1-0 on the road in game one.

At Tel Aviv, Israel:

Goals from Hakan Balta (31'), Harry Kewell (47'), Sabri Sarioglu (53'), and Milan Baros (73') powered Galatasaray to a convincing 4-1 road win in game one over Maccabi Netanya.

At Vilnius, Lithuania:

Bobby Zamora (45'), Danny Murphy (PK-57'), and Seol Ki Hyeon (85') provided the goalpower as Fulham overpowered FK Vetra 3-0 on the road in the series opener.

At Donetsk, Ukraine:

FC Metallurh Donetsk got their two-match set on the right foot with a 2-0 home win in game one over IB Lubljana. Olexiy Godin (20') and Mario Sergio (PK-50') tallied for the hosts.

At Oslo, Norway:

Lino (31') and Zlatan Muslimovic (37') each scored once as PAOK bested Valerenga IF 2-1 on the road in match one.

At Tromso, Norway:

Tromso IL, with scoring provided by Morten Moldskred (67') and Sigurd Rushfeldt (69'), overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit to edge visiting Slaven Koprivnica 2-1 in game one. The Croatian club did get an important away goal at 38 minutes as Nikola Safaric successfully converted a penalty kick.

At Brondby, Denmark:

In a battle of penalty kicks, Alexander Farnerud converted his at 73 minutes to enable Brondby to salvage a 1-1 home deadlock in game one with Legia Warsaw, whose successful penalty kick came at 40 minutes from Macij Jwanski.

At Sofia, Bulgaria:

Ivan Stoianov scored the only goal of the match at 73 minutes as CSKA Sofia blanked visiting Derry City FC 1-0 in the clubs' series opener.

At Fredrikstad, Norway:

Manuel Arboleda's double (22', 25') was part of an offensive showcase that carried Lech Posnan to a 6-1 road brassknuckling of Fredrikstad in game one.

At Gothenburg, Sweden:

Etey Shechter (73'), Samuel Yeboah (78'), and Bebars Natcho (90'+4) each scored a goal in the second half as Hapoel Tel Aviv overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit to down IFK Gothenburg 3-1 on the road in game one.

At Belgrade, Serbia:

Mario Djurovski's equalizer (45'+2) enabled FK Vojvodina to salvage a 1-1 game one home stalemate with Austria Vienna. The Violets scored first on Tomas Jun's goal at 38 minutes.

At Vienna, Austria:

Stefan Maierhofer (25') and Nikica Jelavic (57') each contributed a tally as Rapid Vienna took the opening game of their two-match set with visiting APOP 2-1. Jose Filipe Correira Semedo did score a late away goal for the Cypriot club at 79 minutes.

At Vadus, Liechtenstein:

Jan Blazek scored the only goal of the match (43') as FC Slovan Liberec defeated FC Vaduz 1-0 on the road in match one.

At Zilina, Slovakia:

David Kobylik's successful penalty kick at 73 minutes enabled MSK Zilina to salvage a 1-1 game-one home deadlock with Hajduk Split, as the Croatian club got a goal from Rafael Paraiba at 52 minutes.

At Bucharest, Romania:

Banel Nicolita (45'+1) and Bogdan Stancu (61') helped guide Steaua Bucharest to a 3-0 home win over Motherwell FC in the series opener.

At Vaslui, Romania:

Mike Temwanjera (20', 55') provided all the scoring as FC Vaslui blanked visiting Omonia 2-0 in the opening match of their two-game set.

At Warsaw, Poland:

Kees Kwakman scored the lone goal of the match (39') as NAC Breda took game one on the road at the expense of Polonia Warsaw, 1-0.

At Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina:

Jan Novak (11') and David Skutka (60') each tallied once as MFK Kosice took game one on the road over FK Slavija Sarajevo 2-0.

At Bruges, Belgium:

Jonathan Blondel doubled (35', 90') and Joseph Akpala (12') contributed a goal as Club Brugge edged visiting FC Lahti 3-2 in the series opener. The Finnish club got key away goals from Janne Moilanen (6') and Eero Korte (50').

At Randers, Denmark:

Hamburg routed Randers FC 4-0 on the road in game one. HSV got goals courtesy of Jose Paolo Guerrero (11'), Jerome Boateng (24'), Mladen Petric (53'), and Piotr Trochowski (PK-80').

At Aberdeen, Scotland:

Michael Hubnik (17'), Lukas Bajer (64'), Jakub Petr (69'), Michal Ordos (83'), and Tomas Horava (90') each scored once as SK Sigma Olomouc spread the scoring around as they smothered Aberdeen FC 5-1 in the series opener on the road, busting a game that had been deadlocked 1-1 at the intermission.

At Istanbul, Turkey:

Daniel Guiza's hat trick (30', 40', 61') helped Fenerbahce dismantle visiting Honved 5-1 in game one.

At Belgrade, Serbia:

Robert Vittek (34') and Eden Hazard (39') each tallied a first-half goal as Lille downed FK Sevojno 2-0 in game one on the road.

At Eindhoven, Netherlands:

Dirk Marcellis ultra-late goal (90'+3) lifted PSV Eindhoven to a game-one 1-0 home win over Cherno More.

At Helsingborg, Sweden:

Helsingborgs IF took a 2-1 home decision in match one over FK Sarajevo. Christoffer Andersson (PK-6') and Olafur Ingi Skulason (58') each scored a goal for the hosts, but the club from the Bosnian capital did get an away goal to stay in the series, that goal coming at 22 minutes from Damir Hadzic.

At Rome:

Francesco Totti doubled (55', PK-73') as AS Roma took game one 3-1 at home over KAA Gent.

At Dublin, Ireland:

Dedan O'Brien scored the game's only goal at 71 minutes as St. Patrick's Athletic took game one at home, 1-0, over Krylya Sovetov.

At Rijeka, Croatia:

Alexei Eremenko, Jr. (43') and Volodymyr Lysenko (85') contributed the goalpower as FC Metalist Kharkiv topped Rijeka 2-1 on the road in game one.

At Reykjavik, Iceland:

Gudmundur Benedikstsson (6') and Gretar Sigurdsson (9') provided the early goals that staked KR Reykjavik to an early 2-0 lead, only to see Scott Chipperfield (58') and Federico Almerares (83') come up with goals in the second half to gain a 2-2 road draw in game one for FC Basel 1893.

At Bilbao, Spain:

Seydou Doumbia scored the only goal of the match (23') as BSC Young Boys took game one on the road 1-0 over Athletic Bilbao.

At Braga, Portugal:

Elfsborg, thanks to goals courtesy of Helgi Valur Danielsson (16') and Emir Bajrami (73'), topped Sporting Braga on the road, 2-1, in the series opener.

Tim Howard Helps Toffees Top MLS All-Stars In Shootout

At Sandy, Utah:

US national team goalkeeper Tim Howard made six saves during regulation time and stopped three more during the penalty kick shootout as Everton, following a 1-1 regulation draw, won the shootout 4-3 and became the first foreign club to defeat the Major League Soccer All-Stars at the annual MLS All-Star game played Wednesday night.

More Champions League Frustration For MLS

Three more two-match sets in the 2009-10 CONCACAF Champions League's preliminary round commenced on Wednesday.

At Toronto:

Kendall Jagdeosingh scored the only goal of the match (67') as one of last season's semifinalists, the Puerto Rico Islanders downed Toronto FC 1-0 on the road in the first game of their two-match series.

At Panama City, Panama:

Carlos Vilarete (PK-5') and Temistocles Perez (83') provided the scoring as San Francisco FC defeated visiting San Juan Jabloteh 2-0 in their series opener.

At Alajuela, Costa Rica:

Municipal Liberia Mia took game one 3-0 over visiting Real Espana of Honduras. Alejandro Alpizar scored twice (75', 90') for the hosts.

Sporting Held To Scoreless Home Draw; Dinamo Moscow Stun Bhoys On Road

The eleven remaining two-match sets in the third qualifying round of the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League started on Wednesday.

Champions Path:

At Ventspils, Latvia:

Grigori Chirkin scored the only goal of match one (64') as FK Ventspils took the opener at home 1-0 over FC BATE Borisov.

At Tallinn, Estonia:

Leandro's goal at 70 minutes lifted Debreceni VSC to a 1-0 road win in game one over FC Levadia Tallin.

At Nicosia, Cyprus:

With goals from Nenad Mirosavljevic (49') and Marcin Zewlakow (85'), APOEL FC took the opening contest of their two-match set 2-0 at home over Partizan Belgrade.

At Tiraspol, Moldova:

FC Sheriff were held to a 0-0 home stalemate in game one by SK Slavia Prague.

At Bratislava, Slovakia:

Avraam Papadopoulos (2') and Leonardo (21') provided the first-half scoring as Olympiacos took game one with SK Slovan Bratislava 2-0 on the road.

At Zurich, Switzerland:

After Marcos' double (12', 22'), Zoran Pavlovic scored the game-winner at 50 minutes as NK Maribor topped FC Zurich 3-2 on the road in match one.

At Copenhagen, Denmark:

Cesar Santin's double (41', PK-80') helped guide FC Copenhagen to a 3-1 home win in game one of their two match set with Stabaek IF.

At Salzburg, Austria:

Marijo Mandzukic scored an important away goal at 63 minutes as NK Dinamo Zagreb gained a 1-1 road draw in game one with FC Red Bull Salzburg. The hosts' goal came at 45 minutes from Alexander Zickler.

Non-Champions Path:

At Donetsk, Ukraine:

Gheorghe Bucur's double (20', 80') lifted FC Timisoara to a 2-2 road draw with Shakhtar Donetsk in game one. Last season's UEFA Cup winners received goals from Olexandr Gladkiy (60') and Fernardinho (86').

At Glasgow, Scotland:

Alexander Kokorin's goal at 7 minutes held up as Dinamo Moscow took game one of their two-game series 1-0 on the road over Celtic.

At Lisbon, Portugal:

Despite finishing with only ten men, FC Twente still managed to hold hosts Sporting to a 0-0 game-one stalemate.

DC United Held To Home Draw; Easy Win For Pachuca

The preliminary round of the 2009-2010 CONCACAF Champions League got under way on Tuesday with two games.

At Washington:

Jaime Moreno's successful penalty kick at 42 minutes enabled DC United to salvage a 1-1 home deadlock in the opening match of their two-game series with Club Deportivo Luis Angel Firpo from El Salvador. The visitors' goal came from Mario Benitez at 26 minutes.

At Pachuca, Mexico:

Juan Carlos Cacho (41'), Gabriel Caballero (56'), and Christian Gimenez (75') each scored a goal as Pachuca overpowered visiting Deportivo Jalapa 3-0 in the series opener for both clubs.

Europa League: Israeli Club Takes Series Opener

The third qualifying round for the 2009-10 Europa League commenced with one game on Tuesday.


At Tel Aviv, Israel:

Elran Atar scored the lone goal of the match (55') as Bnei Yehuda took game one of their third-qualifying-round two-match set at home, 1-0 over Pacos de Ferreira.

The other 34 two-game series are slated to start this coming Thursday.

UCL: Third Qualifying Round Begins

The third qualifying round for the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League commenced on Tuesday with four games.

This year, this round of qualifying is split into two sections, the Champions Path and Non-Champions Path. The winners of these 15 two-match sets (10 and 5 in the respective sections) would play in the playoff round for berths in the group stage in the Champions League, while the losers will play in the playoff round for group stage play in the Europa League (the ex-UEFA Cup).

The Tuesday contests:

Champions Path:

At Baku Azerbaijan:

The first match between Baki and visiting Levski Sofia ended up as a 0-0 stalemate.

At Aktobe, Kazakhstan:

Maccabi Haifa FC held hosts FC Aktobe to a 0-0 game-one deadlock.

Non-Champions Path:

At Prague, Czech Republic:

Sparta Prague took the opening match at home, 3-1, over Panathinaiklos. Jan Holenda (26'), Kamil Vacek (32'), and Lubos Kalouda (86') each tallied once for the hosts.

At Brussels, Belgium:

RSC Anderlecht belted visiting Sivasspor 5-0 at home in the series opener for both clubs. Tom De Sutter scored twice (17'. 56') for the hosts.

EL TRI CLUB TEAM USA WITH SECOND HALF BLITZKRIEG TO CAPTURE CONCACAF GOLD CUP

At East Rutherford, New Jersey:

In front of more than 79,000 fans, five different goal scorers---Gerardo Torrado (PK-54'), Giovani Dos Santos (61'), Carlos Vela (66'), Jose Castro (78'), and Guillermo Franco (89')---each tallied once during a second-half offensive barrage that saw Mexico smash open a contest that had been scoreless at halftime and deliver a brassknuckling to the defending champions United States, 5-0, on Sunday to win their fifth CONCACAF Gold Cup championship. The loss ended the Americans' 58-match home unbeaten streak against CONCACAF competition, as well as an 11-match home unbeaten run against El Tri.

The Americans, who did not field any of their starters from last month's FIFA Confederations Cup final in South Africa, should have much closer to a full squad for their World Cup qualifier in Mexico City on August 12.

Scoreless In Seattle; Jason Garey Completes Crew Comeback; Revs And Rapids Post Shutout Wins

Six games were played Saturday in Major League Soccer.

At Seattle:

Jon Busch made five saves as the Chicago Fire gained a 0-0 road draw with Seattle Sounders FC.

At Columbus, Ohio:

Jason Garey's game winner (90') lifted the Columbus Crew to a 3-2 come-from-behind home win over Toronto FC.

At Houston:

The New England Revolution handed the Houston Dynamo their first home defeat of the season 1-0, thanks to Kheli Dube's goal at 76 minutes.

At Kansas City, Kansas:

Landon Donovan's equalizer at 33 minutes (assisted by David Beckham) enabled the Los Angeles Galaxy to gain a 1-1 road draw with the Kansas City Wizards, whose goal came at 26 minutes from Claudio Lopez.

At Commerce City, Colorado:

Four different goal scorers---Jacob Peterson (5'), Pat Noonan (46'), Nick Labrocca (61'), and Mehdi Ballouchy (67')---each tallied once as the Colorado Rapids handed the visiting New York Red Bulls a 4-0 frontier-styled fistbeating.

At Santa Clara, California:

Ryan Johnson (36') and Cornell Glen (PK-62') delivered the goalpower that enabled the San Jose Earthquakes to erase a two-goal deficit and gain a 2-2 home deadlock with DC United, both of whose goals came courtesy of Christain Gomez (PK-3', 21').

MLS STANDINGS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

1. Columbus (GP: 19; GD: +4; PTS: 30)
2. Chicago (GP: 18; GD: +5; PTS: 29)
3. DC United (GP: 19; GD: +3; PTS: 28)
4. Toronto FC (GP: 19; GD: -3; PTS: 26)
5. New England (GP: 16; GD: -3; PTS: 23)
6. Kansas City (GP: 17; GD: +1; PTS: 21)
7. New York (GP: 21; GD: -21; PTS: 10)

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

1. Houston (GP: 19; GD: +9; PTS: 32)
2. Seattle (GP: 18; GD: +10; PTS 29)
3. Los Angeles (GP: 19; GD: +3; PTS: 28)
4. Colorado (GP: 18; GD: +5; PTS: 27)
5. Chivas USA (GP: 17; GD: +4; PTS: 27)
6. Real Salt Lake (GP: 18; GD: +5; PTS: 23)
7. FC Dallas (GP: 18; GD: -8; PTS: 17)
8. San Jose (GP: 18; GD: -14; PTS: 14)

Yura's Double Guides RSL Past Hoops

At Sandy, Utah:

Yura Movsisyan's second-half brace (55', 90') helped paced Real Salt Lake to a 4-2 home triumph over FC Dallas in Friday's only Major League Soccer contest.

Team USA and Mexico Reach Gold Cup Final

The semifinal round of the CONCACAF Gold Cup was played with a doubleheader Thursday night in Chicago.

In the opener, Clarence Goodson (45') and Kenny Cooper (90') provided the end-of-half goals as the United States downed Honduras 2-0 to reach the final for the third time. The Americans are the two-time defending champions.

In a tense nightcap, Guillermo Franco scored at 88 minutes to put Mexico up 1-0, only to see Froylan Ledezma equalize in stoppage time (90'+3). 30 scoreless overtime minutes followed. Guillermo Franco, Giovani Dos Santos, Gerardo Torrado, Efrain Juarez, and Carlos Vela all converted their penalty kicks as El Tri took the shootout 5-3 and advanced to the final.

The United States will face Mexico in the Gold Cup final on Sunday at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Europa League: Second Qualifying Round Concludes

The second qualifying round of the 2009-10 Europa League concluded Thursday with 40 games on the docket.

At Rustavi, Georgia:

Sebastian Szalachowski scored the only goal of the match at 8 minuts as Legia Warsaw took game two of their two-match set with Olimpi 1-0 on the road and the series on aggregate 4-0.

At Tbilisi, Georgia:

Giorgi Merebashvili scored twice (18', 63') as Dinamo Tbilisi overturned last week's 2-1 road loss with a 3-1 home win over Liepajas Metalurgs, enabling them to win the two-match set on aggregate 4-3.

At Baku, Azerbaijan:

Rashad Sadygov scored the only goal both the match and series (45'+1)as Qarabag defeated visiting Rosenborg BK in both the second game and two-match series 1-0.

At Skopje, Macedonia:

Ze Carlos scored a pair of goals (35', 79') as FK Rabotnicki doubled up visiting Crusaders FC in game two 4-2 at home and won their two-game series on aggregate 5-3.

At Yerevan, Armenia:

Anthony Lurling (14') and Edwin de Graaf (34') provided the scoring as NAC Breda blanked Gandzasar 2-0 on the road in game two and easily overpowered their Armenian opponents 8-0 on aggregate.

At Lahti, Finland:

FC Lahti, thanks to goals courtesy of Jari Litmanen (66') and Rafael Pires Vieira (79'), overturned their 1-0 defeat in Slovenia from last week and defeated NK Gorica 2-0 in game two at home and took out the Slovenian club on aggregate 2-1.

At Ta' Qali, Malta:

Declan O'Brien scored the only goal of the match at 80 minutes as St. Patrick's Athletic defeated Valletta 1-0 on the road in game two and won their two-match series 2-1 on aggregate.

At Niksic, Montenegro:

Two big goals from Luka Rotkovic, at 78 minutes of game two which forced the two-match series into thirty overtime minutes, and the series winner at 103 minutes, as FK Petrovac, after winning game two 2-1 at home, took the series 4-3 on aggregate, knocking off Anorthosis Famagusta FC in the process.

At Tallinn, Estonia:

Powered by goals from Ousman Jallow (28'), Alexander Farnerud (35'), Samuel Holmen (45'+1), and Jan Kristiansen (90'+2), Brondby bounced back from their home defeat of last week by overpowering Flora 4-1 on the road and taking their two-match series on aggregate, 4-2.

At Kaunas, Lithuania:

Vladimir Vujovic scored what proved to be the series-winning goal, the only road goal of the series at 48 minutes as FK Sevojno gained a 1-1 road draw in game two with Kaunas and took the series by that same goal on aggregate due to the away goals rule.

At Minsk, Belarus:

FC Metallurg Donetsk, with goals courtesy of Musawengosi Mguni (36') and Henrik Mkhitaryan (85'), topped MTZ-RIPO 2-1 on the road in game two and took the two-game series on aggregate, 5-1.

At Warsaw, Poland:

Marcelo Sarvas doubled (10', 66') as Polonia Warsaw belted visiting Juvenes/Dogana 4-0 at home in game two and took the series 5-0 on aggregate.

At Daugavpils, Latvia:

Elran Atar's goal (32') provided all the scoring in game two, which Bnei Yehuda took on the road 1-0, en route to taking out Dinaburg on aggregate 5-0.

At Helsinki, Finland:

Goals from Mindaugas Grigalevicius (27'), Algis Jankauskas (30'), and Jevgenij Moroz (81') enabled Vetra to overcome their 1-0 home defeat from last week and defeat HJK Helsinki 3-1 on the road in game three and capture their two-match set 3-2 on aggregate.

At Chisinau, Moldova:

Tomas Oravec scored the only goal of the match at 47 minutes as MSK Zilina took game two on the road 1-0 against FC Dacia Chisinau and the series 3-0 on aggregate.

At Szombathely, Hungary:

By holding Haladas FC to a 0-0 draw in game two on the road, Elfsborg wrapped up their two-match set up 3-0 on aggregate.

At Tromso, Norway:

Tommy Knarvik scored twice (28', 90'+1) as Tromso IL overpowered visiting Dinamo Minsk 4-1 in game two and took the two-match series 4-1 on aggregate.

At Randers, Denmark:

Randers FC ned a 1-1 home draw in game two to take their two match set on aggregate 2-1 against Suduva, thanks to the visitors' Povilas Leimonas' own goal at 17 minutes.

At Andorra La Vella, Andorra:

Powered by goals from Marco Streller (12'), Marcos Gelabert (15'), and Federico Almerares (88'), FC Basel 1893 manhandled FC Santa Coloma 4-1 on the road in game two and handily took the two-match set 7-1 on aggregate.

At Tel Aviv, Israel:

Maoz Samya (58'), Hen Ezra (84'), and Ahmad Sabaa (89') provided the goalpower that lifted Maccabi Netanya FC to a 3-0 home in game two---and a 3-0 aggregate win in their two-game series with Sliema.

At Koprivnica, Croatia:

Sub Franjo Tepuric doubled in the second half (61', 74') to contribute to the massive offensive barrage conducted at home in game two by Slaven Koprivnica as the Croatian club destroyed Milano 8-2 and finished their two-game brassknuckling of the Macedonian club 12-2.

At Larissa, Greece:

Gretar Sigurdsson scored in the 75th minute to gain a game-two 1-1 road draw for KR Reykjavik as the Icelandic club defeated Larissa FC in the series, 3-1 on aggregate.

At Tiraspol, Moldova:

Miroslav Manolov's double (25', 54') helped Cherno More defeat Iskra-Stali 3-0 on the road in game two and 4-0 on aggregate for the series.

At Trnava, Slovakia:

FK Sarajevo got the series winning goal at 88 minutes from Adis Jahovik as they gained a 1-1 road draw in game two with Spartak Trnava and won their two-match set 2-1 on aggregate.

At Vaduz, Liechtenstein:

Emil Noll's goal at 24 minutes of game two enabled FC Vaduz to take the second game of their two-set series at home with Falkirk FC 1-0 and force overtime, where at 105 minutes, Franz Burgmeier scored the series winner, putting the Liechtensteiner club up 2-1 on aggregate when all was said and done.

At Budapest, Hungary:

Janos Szekely (58') and Rafal Grzelak (66') popped in the second half goals to power Steaua Bucharest to a 2-1 road win in game two over Ujpest and a 4-1 series win on aggregate for the two-match set.

At Londonderry, Northern Ireland:

Kevin Deery scored the only goal of the match as Derry City FC defeated visiting Skonto 1-0 in game two and took the two-match set 2-1 on aggregate.

At Torshavn, Faroe Islands:

Michalis Konstantinou's hat trick (27', 66', 78') helped AC Omonia finish their fistbeating of HB Torshavn, winning game two 4-1 on the road and winning the series 8-1 on aggregate.

At Gent, Belgium:

Yassine El Ghanassy scored the game's lone goal (54') as KAA Gent took game two at home 1-0 over Naftan and even though the score on aggregate was deadlocked at 2-2, still won the series because they scored the only away goal of the two-match set last week in Belarus.

At Istanbul, Turkey:

Galatasaray, thanks to tallies courtesy of Mustafa Sarp (64') and Servet Cetin (90'+2), blanked visiting Tobol 2-0 in game two and won their two-match series 3-1 on aggregate.

At Shkoder, Albania:

Steffan Hofmann's double (66', 90'+2) helped Rapid Vienna blank Vllaznia 3-0 on the road in game two and finish their two-match beatdown of the Albanian club 8-0 on aggregate.

At Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina:

Levani Kutalia (35'), Dejan Djermanovic (48'), and Vucina Scepanovic (90'+3) each delivered a goal as Slavija downed visiting Aalborg BK 3-1 in game two and took the series on aggregate, 3-1.

At Siroki Brijeg, Bosnia-Herzegovina:

Jakob Jantscher's goal at 41 minutes enable SK Sturm Graz to gain a 1-1 road draw with NK Siroki Brijeg in game two and win the two-game set 3-2 on aggregate.

At Belgrade, Serbia:

Aleksandar Jevtic's second-half double (74', 90'+4) was just part of a solid offensive performance for Red Star Belgrade as the hosts handed Rudar Velenje a 4-0 frontier-styled fistbeating in game two and won their two-game series 5-0 on aggregate.

At Helsingborg, Sweden:

Joel Ekstrand's in second-half stoppage time (90'+3) kept Helsingborgs IF alive in their two-match despite dropping a 2-1 home decision in game two with Georgia's FC Zestafoni, thus forcing overtime, in which the hosts' Erik Sundin scored the series-winning tally (100'), enabling HIF to take the series 4-3 on aggregate.

At Airdrie, Scotland:

Jamie Murphy's hat trick in the first half (16', 19', 34') was part of an awesome offensive explosing that saw Motherwell FC crown visiting Flamurtari 8-1 in game two and take their two-match set 8-2 on aggregate. Not bad for a club that dropped their opener 1-0 last week in Albania.

At Reykjavik, Iceland:

Goals from Michael Hubnik (47') and Rudolf Otepka (57') lifted visiting SK Sigma to a 2-0 game-two win over Fram and a 3-1 aggregate win for the series.

At Rijeka, Croatia:

Goals from Tarik Ceric (20'), Anas Sharbini (24'), and Ahmad Sharbini (64') lifted HNK Rijeka to a 3-0 home win in game two over Differdange 03 and overturned last week's loss in Luxembourg to take the two-match set 3-1 on aggregate.

At Wrexham, Wales:

Jami Puustinen's goal at 39 minutes was all the scoring in game two as FC Honka downed Bangor City FC 1-0 on the road and took the two-match series 3-0 on aggregate.

At Guimares, Portugal:

Cristiano provided the only goal of both game two and the series at 84 minutes as Pacos de Ferreira defeated visiting Zimbru 1-0 in both game and series.