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On Wednesday, there were no big surprises in the first UEFA Intertoto Cup semi-final matches: victories were celebrated by La Coruna's "Deportivo", "Valencia" and "Hamburger", while the duel between "Marseille" and "Lazio" ended in a draw.
The biggest step towards the final was taken by the 2004 UEFA Cup winner "Valencia", who crushed the Dutch team "Roda" 4-0 at home thanks to three goals from Rufete and one from defender Emiliano Moretti. Valencia's newcomers Edu and Patrick Kluivert also played successfully, each creating a goal.
Another interesting match took place in the Spanish city of La Coruna, where the local team "Deportivo" defeated "Newcastle" 2-1. The hosts took the lead first after Ruben's goal, but Lee Bowyer equalized. However, the important victory was secured for the hosts by Jorge Andrade's goal.
In another match of this tournament's giants, in Rome, "Lazio" and "Marseille" engaged in a tough battle that ended in a 1-1 draw. The Italians took the lead first when veteran Paolo di Canio scored a goal in the 42nd minute. However, they were unable to maintain their lead - Abdoulaye Meite equalized the score in the 69th minute, giving the advantage to the visitors.
The match between the potential Vilnius team "Žalgiris" and Klužo "Ecomax" club from Romania, which as we have already reported, lost 2-1 at home, ended in a 0-0 draw with competitors "Wolfsburg" and "Lens".
Another German club, "Hamburger SV", celebrated a minimal victory in the Czech Republic against Olomouc's "Sigma" team, thanks to a goal from newcomer Rafael van der Vaart in the 49th minute of the second half.
The return matches will be played next Wednesday, on August 3.
Results of the first matches:
"Žalgiris" (Lithuania) 1 - 2 "Ecomax" (Romania)
"Wolfsburg" (Germany) 0 - 0 "Lens" (France)
"Sigma" (Czech Republic) 0 - 1 "Hamburg" (Germany)
"Deportivo" (Spain) 2 - 1 "Newcastle" (England)
"Lazio" (Italy) 1 - 1 "Marseille" (France)
"Valencia" (Spain) 4 - 0 "Roda" (Netherlands)
