Partisan progress as Aachen fairytale ends

Substitute Miroslav Radovic was the hero for 10-man Partizan Belgrade as his late strike sealed a 1-0 win on the day and progression to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup at the expense of Dnipro.

The result had looked unlikely for the visitors after midfielder Sasa Ilic was dismissed minutes before half-time and as the minutes ticked away it was the Ukrainians who were preparing to celebrate victory on away goals after a 2-2 draw in the first-leg.

But Radovic popped up in the 87th minute to seal a 3-2 aggregate scoreline for the Serbo-Montenegrins.

Yet while one Ukrainian team exited the competition, another marched through to the latter stages.

Shakhtar Donetsk had striker Julius Aghahowa to thank as his solitary strike completed a narrow 1-0 win away to Schalke to take them through 2-1 on aggregate.

Dutch side AZ Alkmaar were given a stern test of their credentials but fought back to see off German Division Two side Aachen 2-1 on aggregate in the Alkmaarder Hout.

Aachen took a shock lead in the 31st minute when former Liverpool forward Erik Meijer scored but AZ were level in the 62nd minute when Barry van Galen netted.

Aachen’s Thomas Stehle was dismissed for a second yellow card and matters got worse for Aachen when the home side got the goal they desperately needed 10 minutes from time.

The busy van Galen’s flicked header was turned in by defender Joris Mathijsen to end Aachen’s fairytale run.

Holders Valencia crashed out 4-3 on penalties to Steaua Bucharest to heap further pressure on Claudio Ranieri.

The Primera Liga outfit took a two-goal lead into the second leg at the Stadionul Ghencea, but two second-half strikes from Steaua midfielder Andrei Cristea took the tie into extra-time – and ultimately the dreaded lottery of the penalty shoot-out.

Italian striker Marco Di Vaio’s miss proved crucial and left Valencia to concentrate on their struggles in domestic football.

Olympiacos had a comfortable passage as a Ieroklis Stoltidis’ goal in the second half was enough for a 1-0 win over Sochaux to take the Greeks through 2-0 on aggregate.

The spoils were shared between Austria Vienna and Athletic Bilbao in a goalless first-leg clash re-scheduled because of snow last week.