Schalke pass Liberec exam

A strong defensive display enabled FC Schalke 04 to preserve a slender first-leg lead away to FC Slovan Liberec and earn a place in the UEFA Intertoto Cup final round.

Early pressure
Leading 2-1 after the first leg in Germany, Schalke were under pressure immediately, as a Václav Koloušek shot from the edge of the penalty area flew just over the crossbar, but fought back strongly and nearly drew level through Thomas Klasener, whose close-range header was saved by Liberec goalkeeper Antonin Kínsky.

Strong defending
The home side came close to drawing level on aggregate on the stroke of half-time, as Karol Kisel shot centimetres wide. Gerald Asamoah's second-half header forced Kinsky into action, and Schalke held on despite Kisel and Kolousek twice shooting narrowly wide in the closing stages.

Pasching progress
Their final opponents will be Austria's SV Pasching, who held a 4-0 first-leg advantage away to SV Werder Bremen. Angelos Charisteas gave the German side a 33rd-minute lead, but a remarkable comeback always looked unlikely and Markus Kiesenebner’s last-minute equaliser gave Pasching a draw on the night.

Easy for Wolfsburg
VfL Wolfsburg also took full advantage of a 4-1 first-leg lead against Croatian team HNK Cibalia, securing a 4-0 win on the night for a comfortable overall victory. Diego Klimowicz gave the German side the lead after 31 minutes, and second-half strikes from Miroslav Karhan, Marko Topic and Dorinel Munteanu ensured the home club’s progress.

Italian job
Wolfsburg will face AC Perugia, who had a much narrower lead to defend from the first tie, but held FC Nantes Atlantique to a goalless draw in Italy to progress by virtue of their 1-0 win in France last week. Perugia produced a solid defensive display, and Nantes’ chances were further damaged by the dismissal of Pascal Delhommeau a minute before the hour.

Heerenveen hold on
Dutch side SC Heerenveen survived a 1-0 defeat away at Slovenia's FC Koper to book a final place by virtue of their 2-0 home win last week, with Saša Jakomin’s goal on the half-hour mark not enough for the Slovenian side. Heerenveen’s final opponents, Villarreal CF, won 3-1 on aggregate against 1. FC Brno, with Jorge López Montaña and Sonny Anderson scoring to ensure a 2-0 second-leg success in Spain against the Czech team, who had Aleš Schuster sent off.