José Mari to the rescue

Alessandro Mancini's first goal for AS Roma sealed a 1-1 draw at FK Vardar while Villarreal CF forward José Mari scored a last-minute winner to edge out Trabzonspor 3-2 on a thrilling night of UEFA Cup first-round action.

Mancini spares blushes
Roma had won their first leg against the side from F.Y.R. Macedonia 4-0 but went behind in the return game when Srgjan Zaharievski opened the scoring just before half-time. Fabio Capello's team struggled to come back into the match and were indebted to Mancini's strike after 53 minutes.

Late winner
Villarreal survived a scare against Trabzonspor despite coasting into a two-goal lead thanks to second-half efforts from Sonny Anderson and José Mari. But Gökdeniz Karadeniz and Fatih Tekke hit back for the hosts and a shock was on the cards until José Mari popped up on 90 minutes to send the Spanish side into the second round.

Late equaliser
There was even more drama in Moscow where FC Torpedo Moskva needed a penalty shoot-out to see off the challenge of PFC CSKA Sofia. The 1-1 scoreline from the first leg was repeated as the Bulgarian side's forward Velizar Dimitrov netted a late equaliser to cancel out Andres Oper's early strike.

Penalty drama
CSKA were reduced to ten men when Yordan Todorov was dismissed for a second bookable offence after 68 minutes. The Russians could not make the one-man advantage count in extra-time but showed their mettle to win 3-2 after spot-kicks.

Spartak progress
Moscow's other representatives FC Spartak Moskva drew 1-1 at Esbjerg fB to win 3-1 on aggregate. Roman Pavluchenko gave the visitors the lead at the end of the first half but was dismissed on the hour mark. Lasse Krgger Jørgensen equalised for Esbjerg just before the final whistle.

Rosenborg rampage
Rosenborg BK were one of the biggest winners of the night as they trounced FK Ventspils 6-0 to win 10-1 on aggregate. Azar Karadas, Harald Brattbakk and Erik Hoftun scored in the first period and Jan Gunnar Solli, Brattbakk again and a Vladimirs Zavoronkovs own goal were also on the scoresheet.

Dutch stroll
FC Utrecht were also comfortable winners, beating MŠK Žilina 4-0 in Slovakia. Johannes Van der Haar put the visitors two goals up on either side of a missed penalty from Žilina's Dusan Sninsky. Michael Lamey and Stéphane Tanghe completed the scoring for the Dutch side.

Debreceni win again
Hungarian side Debreceni VSC recorded a 3-2 home victory to advance 6-3 on aggregate at NK Varteks' expense. The visitors took the lead through Nikola Šafaric after 26 minutes, but two goals within 60 seconds on the stroke of half-time set up the victory with László Éger first firing in a free-kick before Zoltán Kiss scored with a header. Varteks levelled through Nenad Vuckovic, only for Ronald Habi to strike a winner into the top corner in stoppage time.

Levski coast through
PFC Levski Sofia eased past Israeli second division side Hapoel Ramat-Gan FC, winning 4-0. Georgi Chilikov, Georgi Ivanov, Sasha Simonovic and Nyren Njogu Demba were the scorers. Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC were another Israeli side to be eliminated, going out 1-0 on aggregate after a goalless draw at Gaziantepspor.

Rousing comeback
There was some cheer for Israeli fans as Maccabi Haifa FC drew 2-2 at NK Publikum to go through 4-3 on aggregate. The Slovenians went two goals ahead thanks to a pair of goals from Robert Koren but Maccabi were indebted to goals from Idan Tal and Giovanni Rosso to clinch a place in the second round.

Slavia on the march
They will be joined by Czech side SK Slavia Praha, who beat FK Sartid 2-1 to repeat their first-leg scoreline. Richard Dostalek and Adauto Da Silva scored early goals to ensure Sartid's response was nothing more than a consolation.

Double Greek triumph
Panionios NFC beat FC Nordsjaelland 1-0 to win 3-1 on aggregate while FC PAOK overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit and beat SFK Lyn 3-0 thanks to goals from Giasemis Giasemi, Giorgos Koutsis and Leonidas Vokolos.

Away goal misery
Grazer AK were left counting the cost of a goalless draw against Vålerenga IF in Oslo as Morten Berre's goal cancelled out Dieter Ramusch's first-half effort to send the Norwegian team through on away goals.

Hoseth the hero
Molde FK also got through, beating UD Leiria 3-1. Magne Hoseth and Daniel Berg Hestad put the Norwegian side two ahead before Lima Maciel pulled one back. Hoseth scored his second penalty of the game to secure the win.