GOONERSGUIDE INTERTOTO NEWS SECTION

This is our Intertoto news section where we provide any news items that might have a significant effect on the matches being played - or sports betting in general.

Intertoto News :: Intertoto Cup second round first leg results

Posted on 2008-07-07 by Gooner

The away sides had the best of matters as the second batch of UEFA Intertoto Cup second round first legs were played on Sunday.

While European heavyweights Rosenborg BK ran out comfortable winners in Lithuania and three more clubs gained victories abroad, the two teams that lost on the road, Panionios GSS and Bohemian FC, only did so by single-goal margins.

FK Ekranas 1-3 Rosenborg BK
The Norwegian visitors brought a strong European pedigree with them to Lithuania and took the lead after just 14 minutes, the 38-year-old Roar Strand heading in from a corner. However, Ekranas responded within a minute, Egidijus Varnas converting well from a right-wing cross. Rosenborg retook the lead ten minutes before the break, again from a corner, this time through Uruguayan defender Alejandro Lago. The visitors dominated after the interval and Yssouf Koné scored their third midway through the second half to give them a healthy advantage ahead of the second leg.

Hibernian FC 0-2 IF Elfsborg
Goals in each half gave Elfsborg a comfortable first-leg win at Easter Road. The visitors took the lead after 16 minutes when Anders Svensson's defence-splitting pass was put away by Emir Bajrami. Andreas Augustsson doubled his side's advantage 20 minutes after the break firing in a deflected shot from the edge of the area which squirmed through the grasp of home goalkeeper Yves Ma-Kalambay.

OFK Beograd 1-0 Panionios GSS
The Serbian side gained a narrow advantage to take to Greece after a match played in stifling 40C heat in Belgrade. Following a tight first half, the deadlock was broken in the 69th minute, Andrija Kaludjerovic latching on to a Zoran Milovac pass and out-pacing the defensive cover before finishing from close range. The match was OFK's eleventh in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, a national record.

TPS Turku 1-2 Odense BK
Goals at the beginning and end of the game gave Odense a first-leg win to take back to Denmark. The visitors went in front after five minutes through Baye Djiby Fall but the Finnish side replied just before the interval when French striker Armand One struck. The home side took the game to their opponents in the second half but it was Odense who got the winner seven minutes from time as captain Chris Sørensen smashed in a long-distance free-kick.

FK Rīga 1-0 Bohemian FC
Rīga will travel to Ireland with a slender advantage after the game's solitary goal came from Valeri Leonov. Playing in Liepaja, Rīga had the best of the first half and went in front a minute before half-time after Russian midfielder Leonov finished off a well-constructed team move. The second period was more even but neither side could make a telling contribution leaving the deciding leg well poised.

FK Renova 1-2 Bnei Sakhnin FC
A dominant performance by Sakhnin gave them a first-leg victory to defend in Haifa next Saturday. The visitors opened the scoring through a 41st-minute penalty from Haled Haliala. They then doubled the lead after the break, Abed Rabah making a purposeful run before striking home from the edge of the area in the 63rd minute. The hosts replied immediately as Aleksandar Angelovski drove in from inside the box and although the goal spurred Renova on, they could not find an equaliser.

Sourced From : UEFA.Com

PREVIOUS NEWS ITEM :
Americans in takeover talks with Newcastle Utd owner