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On Thursday, the first UEFA Cup quarter-final matches were played - Moscow's "CSKA" with D.Šembera almost secured their place in the semi-finals with a crushing victory, Alkmaar's "AZ" won away, "Newcastle" gained a minimal lead at home, and one match ended in a draw.
"Auxerre" had to start the match in Moscow without two of their leaders R.Bolfo and B.Cheyrou, and it reflected in their game, as "CSKA" started more actively and broke ahead in the 21st minute when C.Odiah scored a rebound goal.
Although in the second half the visitors had a chance to equalize, B.Mwaruwari missed the target, and for that the French were punished, as after over an hour of play in the penalty area, V.Love was brought down and S.Ignashevich converted the penalty kick.
Just eight minutes later, the score became devastating - Zhirkov burst into the penalty area, passed the ball to V.Love, who only had to send it into the net. Zhirkov continued to terrorize the opponents' defense and shortly after his pass, R.Gusev scored the fourth goal.
At the end of the match, "Auxerre" defender J.Mignot received a second yellow card and was sent off the field, but it did not change the result. "CSKA" unexpectedly won with a huge lead and can already prepare for the semi-final. D.Shemberas played the whole match for the winning team.
An unexpected result was provided by Alkmaar's "AZ", who amazed Europe this season, defeating last season's semi-finalist "Villarreal" away. The visitors took the lead in the 11th minute with a penalty kick goal by D.Landzaat, but just two minutes later, J.Riquelme equalized with almost the same shot.
In the 28th minute, Riquelme could have taken his team ahead, but when J.Kromkamp fouled L.Figueroa, goalkeeper H.Timmer saved Riquelme's attempt from the penalty spot. "AZ" resisted throughout the first and second half, and carried the victory back from Spain thanks to R.Nelisse's goal in the 74th minute.
"Newcastle" will travel to Portugal with a minimal advantage, having defeated Lisbon's "Sporting" at home. Although in the first half-hour of the match both teams did not create many dangerous opportunities, in the 34th minute after a penalty kick by L.Roberto, the ball was headed into the net by the hosts' captain A.Shearer.
"Newcastle" coach G.Souness had to substitute the reserve goalkeeper S.Harper in the second half due to S.Given's injury, but he had little work, and had to defend his goal only after J.Moutinho's attempt. Meanwhile, the English team's best chances to increase the lead were not taken by J.Milner and S.Ameobi.
The Vienna "Austria" team managed to secure a draw against the attack-minded and defensively strong "Parma" team, playing without their leaders. The hosts had the initiative at the start of the match, but the Italian visitors counterattacked and in the 34th minute A.Pisanu scored the first goal.
After the break, "Austria" pressed the opponents to equalize, and scored a goal halfway through the second half, when Polish S.Mila received a pass from S.Vachoušek and sent the ball into the net. The hosts sought victory and continued to pressure the opponents, but "Parma" held on and will now have the advantage of scoring an away goal.
UEFA Cup quarter-finals statistics:
"CSKA" 4 - 0 "Auxerre" 21' [1 - 0] Chidi Odiah 63' [2 - 0] Sergey Ignashevich (penalty) 71' [3 - 0] Vagner Love 77' [4 - 0] Rolan Gusev
82' Jean-Pascal Mignot ("Auxerre") sent off
"Austria" 1 - 1 "Parma" 34' [0 - 1] Andrea Pisanu 61' [1 - 1] Sebastian Mila
"Newcastle" 1 - 0 "Sporting" 37' [1 - 0] Alan Shearer
"Villarreal" 1 - 2 "AZ" 11' [0 - 1] Danny Landzaat 13' [1 - 1] Juan Román Riquelme 74' [1 - 2] Robin Nelisse
28' Juan Román Riquelme ("Villarreal") missed a penalty
