© EuroFootball.com
UEFA Intertoto Cup third round second leg matches took place on Saturday, with 11 out of 12 games being played. A surprise was recorded in the Czech Republic, where Olomouc's "Sigma" managed to resist against Dortmund's "Borussia" and eliminate their opponent, while other favorites won their matches.
In the first match, Czech striker J. Koller scored a goal for "Borussia," equalizing the score to 1-1 for the German team, and the Olomouc team at home managed to avoid conceding against the stronger opponents and secure their spot in the semifinals due to an away goal.
Another unexpected result was Vilnius' "Žalgiris" advancing to the next stage, although their opponent "Egaleo" did not put up much resistance in this tournament and played the matches with a weaker lineup. Regardless, the Vilnius team now awaits participation in the semifinals, where their opponent will be determined after the "Saint-Etienne" and Cluj's "Ecomax" match, starting on Sunday at 18:30 in France.
One of the most intense battles of the third round was between Slovan's "Liberec" and "Roda." In the first match in the Netherlands, both teams failed to score, but in the away match in the Czech Republic, "Roda" players scored a goal and secured a satisfactory draw. In the semifinals, "Roda" will play against the "Valencia" club, which defeated the Belgian "Gent" team at home with two goals.
All other favorites advanced to the semifinals quite easily: "Hamburger" defeated the Portuguese "Leiria" and will now play against the "Sigma" club that eliminated the Dortmund team, "Newcastle" won against "Dubnica," and "Deportivo" easily defeated the "Slaven" club. In the semifinals, "Lazio" will face off against "Marseille" and "Wolfsburg" against "Lens."
The first leg of the Intertoto Cup semifinals will be played soon, on Wednesday, July 27, with the second leg scheduled for August 3. The three final pairs of matches, whose winners will advance to the UEFA Cup tournament, will be played on August 9 and 23.
Results of the third round: (Highlighted teams advanced to the semifinals)
"Newcastle" (England) 2 - 0 "Dubnica" (Slovakia) (First leg 3-1, total result 5-1) "Slaven" (Croatia) 0 - 3 "Deportivo" (Spain) (0-1, 0-4) "Hamburger" (Germany) 2 - 0 "Leiria" (Portugal) (1-0, 3-0) "Žalgiris" (Lithuania) 2 - 3 "Egaleo" (Greece) (3-1, 5-4) "Liberec" (Czechia) 1 - 1 "Roda" (Netherlands) (0-0, 1-1) "Tampere" (Finland) 1 - 1 "Lazio" (Italy) (0-3, 1-4) "Lens" (France) 4 - 1 "Varteks" (Croatia) (1-1, 5-2) "Sigma" (Czechia) 0 - 0 "Borussia" (Germany) (1-1, 1-1) "Wolfsburg" (Germany) 2 - 0 "Göteborg" (Sweden) (2-0, 4-0) "Marseille" (France) 2 - 1 "Young Boys" (Switzerland) (3-2, 5-3) "Valencia" (Spain) 2 - 0 "AA Gent" (Belgium) (0-0, 2-0)Intertoto Cup semifinal pairs:
"Deportivo" (Spain) - "Newcastle" (England) "Wolfsburg" (Germany) - "Lens" (France) "Lazio" (Italy) - "Marseille" (France) "Žalgiris" (Lithuania) - "Ecomax" (Romania)/"Saint-Etienne" (France) "Valencia" (Spain) - "Roda" (France) "Sigma" (Czechia) - "Hamburger" (Germany)Possible Intertoto Cup final pairs:
"Sigma"/"Hamburger" - "Valencia"/"Roda" "Deportivo"/"Newcastle" - "Lazio"/"Marseille" "Žalgiris"/"Ecomax"/"Saint-Etienne" - "Wolfsburg"/"Lens"
