Yellow cards give Serbia coach Antic a headache

June 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Serbia coach Radomir Antic is considering resting some of his booked first-choice players for the World Cup Group D match against Australia on Wednesday.

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The entire back four, plus midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic and striker Nikola Zigic, are on one yellow card and could miss the second round match if they progress from a tight group.

“That is a lot of players with one booking and we still haven’t decided what to do, it could be a last-minute decision,” Antic told a news conference on Sunday.

“On the one hand, we have to go for a win and cross the next bridge when we come to it but, on the other, we also have to look ahead because we can’t afford to lose too many starters if we reach the second stage.

“Australia are a fiercely competitive team so it’s good to have central defender Aleksandar Lukovic back from suspension and he is likely to be picked again.”

Lukovic missed the 1-0 win over Germany after being sent off in Serbia’s opening loss to Ghana by the same scoreline.

He is set to take his place back from Neven Subotic, one of the four defenders on a yellow card.

The other three are Branislav Ivanovic, Nemanja Vidic and Aleksandar Kolarov but, given the lack of depth at the back in Serbia’s squad, all three should start against Australia.

FITTEST TEAM

Serbia will qualify for the last 16 if they win and a draw could also be enough depending on the outcome of the Germany-Ghana match at Soccer City in Johannesburg.

Antic was impressed by 10-man Australia’s performance in a 1-1 draw with Ghana on Saturday and acknowledged Serbia had to improve on their fortuitous win over Germany to progress.

“Australia come across as the fittest team in the tournament,” he said. “They had more chances than Ghana to win the game after losing Harry Kewell to a red card and we’ll have to be at our best to beat them.

“Tim Cahill will return from suspension and that will be a massive boost for them while the fans could also be a factor…

“But we will be at full strength and raring to go after beating Germany for the first time in 37 years,” he added.

“That win was more than just three points as it has inspired us to aim for greater heights.”

Winger Milan Jovanovic, who scored the winner against Germany, said the victory against the triple World Cup winners would amount to nothing if Serbia don’t advance from the group.

“It was a great feeling but it will soon be forgotten if we don’t finish the job against the Australians. We must keep that in mind and stay fully focused on the task ahead.”

(Writing by Zoran Milosavljevic; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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Aussie Kewell gets one match ban for sending off

June 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Australian forward Harry Kewell was suspended for one match by FIFA’s disciplinary panel on Sunday following his red card against Ghana on Saturday, FIFA said in a statement.

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He will miss Australia’s next Group D match against Serbia on June 23.

Kewell handled the ball on the line to deny Ghana a certain goal in the 24th minute of Saturday’s game at Rustenburg which ended in a 1-1 draw. Ghana scored from the resulting penalty.

(Editing by Jon Bramley)

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Australia need goals, luck and no more red cards

June 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Australia need a calculator and goals, goals, goals to make it to the next round of the World Cup in South Africa after a battling, 10-man draw against Ghana Saturday gave them a flicker of hope.

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With their two best players sent off in their first two matches in the tournament, the Socceroos may also be hoping for a bit of luck.

A 1-1 scoreline against the World Cup’s top African side so far left Australia with one point from two games, with Ghana top on four and Germany and Serbia each with three.

The easiest route into the last 16 would be a thumping victory over Serbia or an, unlikely, second successive loss for Germany.

However, Australia are confident of getting a big win against Serbia in Nelspruit Wednesday, particularly with the chance of playing the whole match with 11 men.

Coach Pim Verbeek said the way the team had rallied after going a player down showed their belief was not misguided.

“We have to go for it, we have to win this game, there is no alternative,” Verbeek said.

“Germany is history, Ghana is history. All we have to do is beat Serbia with at least a four goal difference, so let’s focus on that.”

Australia showed good spirit to hold off a skilful Ghana after forward Harry Kewell was red carded after just 24 minutes. This was the second time the team had to play a man down with Tim Cahill dismissed during the 4-0 drubbing by Germany.

Cahill, Australia’s top goalscorer, will be back for the Serbia match, giving the team a target up front. In two games so far, the team has managed just one goal.

“We played 70 minutes with 10 players and still we created 2 or 3 open chances. You could never prove it but if you play 11 v 11 you can get even more chances,” Verbeek told Reuters following Saturday’s tie.

“We have no choice, we have to score (against Serbia) or Ghana should beat Germany that is also an option. Or if Germany beat Ghana with a lot of goals then one goal is enough so it is a very interesting Wednesday,” Verbeek said.

Captain Lucas Neill had no doubt the world’s 20th ranked side will repeat its achievement of Germany 2006 and make it through to the knockout rounds.

“When there is hope, we will stay positive and positive things happen to positive people.”

(Additional reporting by Sonia Oxley; Editing by Michael Holden)

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Germany stick with Klose for opener

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Germany coach Joachim Loew stuck with out-of-form striker Miroslav Klose for the team’s opening World Cup Group D game against Australia on Sunday.

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He also went for youth over experience on the right wing, giving 20-year-old Thomas Mueller his third cap ahead of 26-year-old Piotr Trochowski.

Klose, who was top scorer at the 2006 World Cup with five goals having finished second with five at the 2002 tournament, only netted three times for Bayern Munich last season.

Australia coach Pim Verbeek left Harry Kewell on the bench and gave Richard Garcia, who usually plays as an attacking midfielder, his eighth cap as the lone striker ahead of Josh Kennedy. Garcia has never scored for Australia.

Follow all matches live here

(Reporting by David Clarke; Editing by Nigel Hunt)

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Fans prepare for Australia-Germany with a surf

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Australia fans David Eggleton and Adam Rakowski flew into Durban at 2 a.m. from a cold, wet Cape Town to watch their team play Germany at the World Cup on Sunday but first they went to catch some waves.

Sports | Germany

The beach strip in South Africa’s third-largest city was flooded with supporters, playing soccer in the sand, sunbathing, surfing, knocking back beer in seaside hotels and learning to play African drums.

“The beach, the warmth, the beautiful girls, it’s unbelievable,” said surfer Eggleton, a 36-year-old electrician from Sydney who will be sporting an inflatable ostrich suit for the game. “It has exceeded our expectations by 10.”

Australian fans easily outnumbered the Germans on the promenade, although many of the Europeans are based in Pretoria and will be arriving by coach a few hours before kick off.

The Australian fans camped at Kingsmead cricket ground were planning to leave en masse and walk through the coastal city to the gleaming new 70,000-seater Moses Mabhida stadium for the Group D game that kicks off at 8.30 p.m. (1830 GMT).

Chilling out under a parasol, an Australian flag planted firmly in the sand, student Simon Dutka from Sydney said the Socceroos would finally put the 1974 campaign behind them — when the team lost to both West and East Germany.

“That’s in the past,” he said. “We’ve got the talent and we’ve just got the sheer guts… if (forward Harry) Kewell and the boys really dig deep we can do it.”

TOUGHEST GAME

Peter Luke, 23, from Byron Bay, was guardedly optimistic that Australia would win a game captain Lucas Neill reckons will be the toughest they have faced in three World Cup campaigns.

“I’ll back Australia, 1-0. Our defense has been really strong and I think we can beat Germany,” Luke said on the beach. “(Midfielder Tim) Cahill’s great, he plays with his heart. But he needs to step up if we’re going to win today.”

The local authorities have poured money into beachfront renovations in Durban over the past couple of years and residents and fans alike were enjoying the festive atmosphere and the Indian Ocean sunshine.

Young children wobbled along on bicycles, skateboarders zipped through the crowds, reggae music blasted from speakers perched near the sand and locals wandered by with fishing rods.

The police were out in force and a helicopter buzzed up and down the coast, but few fans were concerned about security and praised the welcome they have received from locals.

“They’re so friendly and so happy that we’ve come down here,” said Christine Stewen, 26, from Recklinghausen, who will be going to all of Germany’s group matches.

She reckoned the German team would not be troubled by Australia’s resolute defense and, like many of her compatriots, was looking more to the latter stages of the competition.

But Germany were hit by injuries to key players such as captain Michael Ballack ahead of the tournament and some fans reckon the semi-final is the best they can hope for this time.

“I think it’s a problem, the lack of experience after the injury of Ballack,” said Sebastian Scheiwe, 30, from Cologne. “We can get to the quarter-final, maybe the semi-final.

“This year I don’t expect to win (the World Cup) but you should never underestimate a German side.”

(Editing by Ken Ferris)

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Sheree Murphy Calls for an End to Football Boredom

June 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, Jun 01 (MARKET WIRE) —
Gala Bingo has teamed up with Sheree Murphy to offer the
football-fatigued an escape from all the discussions regarding Rooney’s
right foot or England’s penalty shootout chances.

While her World Cup footballer husband, Harry Kewell, is away playing for
the Australian team in South Africa, the Hollyoaks actress will be having
plenty of fun at home without him.

She’ll be going out with her friends to play bingo at the UK’s number one
bingo operator, where every day during June and July someone can win GBP
250K playing Gala Bingo’s ‘World Cup Fever High 5′game.

Driven by big prizes, excitement and teamwork, ‘World Cup Fever High 5′
is a rollover jackpot game. If ‘house’ is called on number 5, the winner
claims half the jackpot, while the other half is shared by all the other
players at the club.

From 9-30 June, Gala Bingo is also offering the chance to win between GBP
50 to GBP 15k cash prizes in its eight ‘All Winners Games’.

Gala Bingo offers plenty of things to do if bored of the World Cup. From
June 1 and throughout the World Cup, Sheree will have a series of online
games in the dedicated ‘Sheree Murphy’ club at galabingo.com, as well as
weekly jackpots of GBP 20,000. Popular interactive bingo channel, Gala
TV, which is streamed and broadcast on Sky and Freesat channel 861, will
also be running a number of World Cup themed games.

Sheree said: “During the World Cup, I’m not going to be sitting
around watching endless hours of football. Instead I’m really looking
forward to a great night out playing bingo with my friends.”

She added: “I’m really excited to be working with Gala Bingo. I’ve
always loved to play bingo. It’s a great night out.”

Chris Edgington, group marketing director at Gala Bingo said: “With
Sheree’s help, we’re delighted to be offering our players a fantastic
escape from all the World Cup fever in June and July. We’ve got some
great cash prizes up for grabs as well as the chance to win GBP 250k. We
wish all our players – and England – the very best of luck!”

Gala Bingo’s ‘World Cup Fever High 5′ game will take place in Gala Bingo
clubs nationwide everyday throughout the World Cup at 14.30 and 20.30hrs.

Notes to editors

Gala Bingo, galabingo.com and Gala TV are all part of Gala Coral Group
Limited – Europe’s leading gambling operator.

Gala Bingo

Gala Bingo is the UK’s number one bingo operator, with 145 clubs. Gala
Bingo hosts a rollover jackpot game called High 5, a unique offering in
the bingo industry whereby jackpots are shared between club members. The
largest win to date was in November 2007, where nearly GBP 875,000 was
won – half of which was distributed among High 5 players and the other
half went to one overall winner.

The way High 5 works is very simple. If ‘house’ is called on number 5,
players can claim 50 per cent of the rollover jackpot, while the
remaining 50 per cent is shared by all the other players at the club.
There’s another chance to win if members call ‘house’ on a number ending
with a five – for example number 85 – where 10 per cent of the total cash
is awarded to that player and the rest of the jackpot rolls over to the
next game.

The High 5 game has paid out GBP 2.3 million in Jackpot prizes alone
since January 1, 2010. That’s the equivalent of a High 5 Jackpot paid out
every single day.

galabingo.com

galabingo.com is a leading online bingo website with a winner every
second (bingo and games) and gives away GBP 65 million a year.
galabingo.com offers bingo, chat and other fun games 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.

Gala TV

Gala TV is streamed at galabingo.com and broadcast on Sky and Freesat
channel 861.

Gala Coral Group

Gala Coral Group is proud to support Sue Ryder Care, and has raised over
GBP 1m and is the first gambling operator to have received full GamCare
accreditation across all its divisions.

Gala Coral Group employs nearly 17,000 people.

Contacts:
Slice
Hannah Morgan
020 3128 6557
hannah@slice.co.uk

Gala Coral Group
Lesley Hall
01483 718326
lesley.hall@galacoral.com

Copyright 2010, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

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Schwarzer out of match against New Zealand, 1st Ld-Writethru, SOC

May 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Veteran goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer will miss Australia’s friendly against New Zealand on Monday with a thumb sprain. Schwarzer’s injury during a practice session Wednesday will give Adam Federici, 25, the start at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia’s final home match before the World Cup in South Africa.

Team officials said Sunday the 37-year-old Fulham goalkeeper’s World Cup appearance is not in jeopardy. Federici played for Reading in the English championship this season.

Star striker Harry Kewell will also miss Monday’s match for Australia as he recovers from a persistent groin injury. Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek, who said his side’s six-day training camp in Melbourne was a success, will cut the provisional Australia squad from 31 to 27 on Tuesday.

He must select his final 23-man World Cup squad by June 1. “We’ve had a fantastic training camp, great training facilities, the boys have all done a fantastic job,” Verbeek said.

“But they know I have to make a few decisions before I go to South Africa and they have done everything to show us they are ready and want to be part of the World Cup selection.” Australia opens Group D preliminary play against Germany on June 13 in Durban.

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World Cup Group D news – Australia/Germany/Ghana/Serbia

April 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Latest Group D news ahead of the World Cup in South Africa which starts on June 11:

AUSTRALIA

Talismanic winger Harry Kewell was again forced to sit on the sidelines as he watched his Galatasaray team mate and international captain Lucas Neil get sent-off as they were held to a scoreless draw with Bursaspor in Turkey on Sunday.

The former Liverpool player had declared he was over the groin injury which has forced him out since December but he was not risked by coach Frank Rijkaard and has little time left to prove his fitness ahead of the World Cup.

Midfielder Brett Emerton missed Blackburn Rovers’ 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Saturday with a hamstring injury suffered a fortnight ago although he is expected to recover in time for the visit of Arsenal next week.

GERMANY

Germany are again struggling with the question of who will their starting goalkeeper be after Bayer Leverkusen’s Rene Adler cracked a rib last week.

Tim Wiese of Werder Bremen and Michael Neuer are the other contenders for the post but Adler was unwilling to rule himself out of the job.

“From a medical perspective there is nothing against me starting to train again from next week,” Adler told reporters days ago though he did not specify if he would play this season again for Leverkusen.

“We will take it one day at a time and decide calmly when (a return in goal) would make sense.”

Joachim Loew had earmarked Adler as his first choice early this year but the 25-year-old has been far from consistent for either Germany or Leverkusen since the winter break.

GHANA

Fullback John Pantsil made his first return to action since breaking his ankle with a full 90 minutes’ action in the English Premier League on Sunday.

The 28-year-old played his first match for Fulham, who went down 2-1 at Everton, since December.

Pantsil’s injury, suffered against Chelsea on Dec. 28, kept him out of the African Nations finals in January but his timely return is a boost to their World Cup hopes.

SERBIA

Striker Danko Lazovic will be out for a month with a thigh injury he picked up in a Russian Premier League match for his club Zenit St. Petersburg against Terek Grozny on Sunday.

Lazovic’s participation in the World Cup finals is hanging in the balance after the initial scan revealed a torn muscle.

“I felt sharp pain as I ran after the ball and I am really concerned about the World Cup, the second scan will show how serious the injury is,” Lazovic said.

The injury is a second blow in a week for Serbia, who have lost defender Ivica Dragutinovic to a torn Achilles tendon and he is certain to miss the June 11-July 11 finals.

(Editing by Miles Evans;

To query or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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Kewell fighting to get fit for World Cup

April 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Injury-prone playmaker Harry Kewell is battling to secure a place in Australia’s World Cup squad but believes he has overcome the worst of a groin strain that has sidelined him for three months.

The former Liverpool winger, who has not played since December, expects to return for Turkish club Galatasaray this weekend but has only a handful of games in which to prove his fitness before the South Africa finals start on June 11.

“This injury has come at a bad time for me so I’ve got to work hard to try to secure myself,” said Kewell, who underwent surgery on the groin earlier this year.

“Basically I’ve got one of the biggest tournaments coming up now. It’s a chance for me to show this club what I’m capable of doing.

“I feel like I can do that. I just needed a little rest to get my body back into shape and now it’s back into shape and it’s nearly there, so I’m really looking forward to this World Cup.”

A fully fit Kewell would be a major boost for the Socceroos, who despite enjoying a smooth qualifying campaign, have struggled to score in the absence of key striker Mark Viduka, who has all but retired from professional soccer.

The 31-year-old Kewell said he still believed his best football was ahead of him.

“Obviously as a youngster I did well enough to achieve certain things, but I still feel like I’ve got more in me to produce better football now than what I did when I was younger,” he said.

“So hopefully the good achievements haven’t even started with me yet.”

Australia plays its opening Group D match against Germany in Durban on June 13.

Serbia and Ghana are the other teams in the group.

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Neill helps Galatasaray to victory

April 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Lucas Neill helped secure a 4-1 win for his new Turkish Super Lig club Galatasaray in their clash with Diyarbakirspor.

The Australian defender fired home Galatasaray’s third goal of the match in the early stages of the second half.

Team-mate Milan Baros was in fine form, picking up a hat-trick.

He opened the scoring in the 18th minute and followed up with another 10 minutes later and a third moments after Neill’s goal.

Alper Aydin was the only player to get on the scoresheet for Diyarbakirspor with a goal halfway through the second half.

It was Neill’s first goal for Galatasaray since he joined the club in January after a short stint with English Premier League club Everton.

Compatriot Harry Kewell was missing from the match. He is still recovering from a groin injury.

In the English Premiership, Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer pulled off some spectacular saves to hold Liverpool to a 0-0 draw.

Vince Grella and Brett Emerton both started in Blackburn’s 0-0 draw with Manchester United.

Elsewhere, Scott Chipperfield celebrated FC Basel’s 2-1 win over Zurich in the Swiss Super League.

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Australia on brink of World Cup qualification

April 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Australia had one foot in next year’s World Cup finals after beating Uzbekistan 2-0 on Wednesday while South Korea scored a late winner to down rivals North Korea 1-0 and wrestle back the Group Two lead.

Victory in Sydney gave Australia 13 points from five games in Group One, two clear of Japan, but Bahrain’s 1-0 triumph over Qatar prevented the Socceroos becoming the first team to qualify for the tournament in South Africa.

In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia pulled off a second late fightback in as many games to defeat United Arab Emirates 3-2 and go level on points in Group Two with second-placed North Korea.

Two teams progress from each Asian section and the third-placed sides contest a two-legged playoff for the right to meet Oceania champions New Zealand for a place in the 2010 finals.

South Korea snatched the group lead from their fierce political foes after a free kick wide on the right from Kim Chi-woo with three minutes left floated past a hoard of players into the far corner of the net.

The win put the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists top on 11 points, with North Korea one point behind having played one more game.

After a dour first half Australia took the lead in the 66th minute with a header from the unmarked Josh Kennedy. Harry Kewell then made it 2-0 with a 73rd-minute penalty.

“There was a lot of pressure because we knew we had to win,” Australia captain Lucas Neill said in a television interview.

“We’ve sent a statement out to the rest of the group now, and possibly the world, that we might be the first team to qualify.”

AUSTRALIA WAIT

Australia must wait until their visit to Qatar on June 6 to get the point they need to advance.

Fouzi Aaish’s free kick on 52 minutes gave Bahrain a 1-0 win in Manama and condemned Qatar to their fourth defeat in a row.

“The win hasn’t sealed third place for us (yet),” said Bahrain coach Milan Macala. “We must put a lot of effort in the next matches to win third place.”

Bahrain are third on seven points, with Qatar and Uzbekistan equal bottom on four apiece.

South Korea found it tough against their defensively solid neighbours and almost fell behind soon after the break when Jong Tae-se’s header, which appeared to cross the line, was clawed away by keeper Lee Woon-jae.

Their frustrations were compounded when they squandered a series of scoring opportunities, Lee Keun-ho twice the guilty party.

Park Chu-young’s 66th-minute blocked shot landed at Lee’s feet but he tamely struck the ball into the hands of the goalkeeper. Lee then did exactly the same thing two minutes later to the despair of the packed crowd.

“I expected it would be a one-goal margin,” said South Korea coach Huh Jung-moo. “I felt the North were getting better and better.”

The Saudis, bidding to reach their fifth successive World Cup finals, took an early lead but were stunned by two UAE goals close to halftime.

The hosts levelled on 70 minutes with an own goal from Fares Juma before grabbing the winner 13 minutes later through Naif Hazazi, who also scored on Saturday to spark a last-gasp victory over Iran.

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1ST LEAD: Hamburg oust Galatasaray on bad night for UEFA Cup champs

March 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Hamburg – Paolo Guerrero scored twice and Ivica Olic the other as SV Hamburg fought from 2-0 down to a 3-2 triumph at Galatasaray Istanbul for a place in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals.

Galatasaray led from Harry Kewell’s penalty and Milan Baros, but Guerrero’s double in the 57th and 60th and Olic in the 89th turned the tide.

Hamburg won the round of 16 tie 4-3 from both games, ending Galatasaray’s dream of playing in the May 20 final in their home town of Istanbul.

“This is a special day for us. We are delighted with the win,” said Guerrero.

It was a bad night for UEFA Cup champions overall as the 2000 winners Galatasaray were joined as casualties by holders Zenit St Petersburg and fellow-Russian 2005 winners CSKA Moscow.

Dynamo Kiev also advanced on Thursday, while Werder Bremen and Olympique Marseille made the last eight the previous day.

The winners of Aalborg vs Manchester City and Braga vs Paris St Germain were due to complete the lineup for Friday’s quarter- and semi-final draw later on Thursday.

Galatasaray started slowly into the match with Hamburg but took the lead in the 42nd minute from Kewell’s penalty after Jerome Boateng had brought down Baros in the area.

The hosts seemed assured of the next round when Baros chipped over goalkeeper Frank Rost for 2-0 in the 48th, but Guerrero then blasted home from 20m and scored the
2-2 equalizer on the hour from closer range after rounding two defenders.

Olic got the late winner after Hamburg captain David Jarolim was denied by the left posta few minutes earlier.

“We shouldn’t have lost such a match, it was our own fault,” admitted Galatasaray midfielder Baris Ozbek.

Hamburg coach Martin Jol said: “Paolo scored two wonderful goals. We knew that Galatasaray would become nervous if we scored.”

In St Petersburg, Zenit lacked the flair and attacking power of the past season as they were unable to rebound from the two-goal defeat in Udine.

Captain Anatoliy Tymoshckuk broke the deadlock in the 29th minute with a header off Viktor Fayzulin’s corner but Zenit then tried in vain to get the vital second goal, with Fayzulin aiming high from point-blank range.

At the same time CSKA had to bow to Donetsk and its Brazilians. Fernandinho put the hosts ahead with a 54th-minute penalty after being fouled by Pavel Mameev and Luiz Adriano’s close range effort 16 minutes later saw Shakhtar through.

Ukraine joined Germany with two teams in the quarter-finals as Dynamo Kiev won a Ukrainian duel with Metalist Kharkiv on away goals from a 3-3 overall deadlock after Metalist won 3-2 on the night.

Valentyn Sliusar (29th), Brazilian striker Jaja with a freekick in the 56th and Argentina’s Walter Anibal Acevedo in the 70th were on target for the hosts.

But Croatian Goran Sabljic in 68th and Serbian substitute Milos Ninkovic with a low shot in the 79th minute saw Kiev through on away goals the second straight time after eliminating Spain’s Valencia in the same way in the previous round. dpa

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