Galatasaray assume command in Croatia

NK Slaven Koprivnica 1-2 Galatasaray SK
Galatasaray had to come from behind after conceding a penalty to their Croatian hosts on 14 minutes. Srebrenko Posavec converted the spot-kick following Servet Çetin's foul on Željko Sopić but the 1999/00 UEFA Cup winners were back on terms three minutes before half-time when Ayhan Akman reacted first to Vanja Iveša's save from Hakan Şükür. Asim Šehić squandered a golden chance to restore Slaven's lead midway through the second period when he rounded the goalkeeper only to miss the target and the Turkish visitors took full advantage as Volkan Yaman's 25-metre free-kick eluded Iveša on 73 minutes.

FK Rabotnicki 0-0 NK Zrinjski
Rabotnicki of F.Y.R. Macedonia will be disappointed at not converting pressure into goals against ten-man Zrinjski. Nemanja Milisavljević missed the first chance of the match two minutes before the break when he blazed over from five metres and on the stroke of half-time Ivan Trickovski hit the bar after defender Lukmon Adekunle's long throw caused havoc in the visitors' defence. Trickovski then fired wide from close range on the hour shortly before Zrinski midfielder Goran Jurić was sent off.

UD Leiria 0-0 Maccabi Netanya FC
Netanya gained a useful draw in Portugal and the Israeli side's Ghanaian striker Samudu Awudu twice came close to breaking the stalemate. Leiria goalkeeper Fernando also had to be at his best to deny Etey Shechter's effort just before the break. UEFA Intertoto Cup winners Leiria raised their game in the second half but did not find the target.

PFC Lokomotiv Sofia 3-1 FC Otelul Galati
Lokomotiv edged closer to the first round after a convincing win. Midfielder Martcho Davtchev gave the Railwaymen the lead after 19 minutes when he received a pass from Malin Oratchev and fired emphatically past goalkeeper Paulius Grybauskas. Oratchev almost doubled the defecit soon afterwards when his free-kick came back off the post but the home side eventually scored again thanks to Zoran Baldovaliev, who reacted quickest in a goalmouth scramble on 61 minutes. Constantin Semeghin gave Otelul a lifeline with a perfectly-flighted free-kick but substitute Vladimir Djilas restored the two-goal advantage seven minutes from time, heading in Baldovaliev's pinpoint left-wing cross.

CFR 1907 Cluj 1-3 Anorthosis Famagusta FC
Cluj's inaugural UEFA Cup appearance ended in disappointment as Anorthosis of Cyprus took a two-goal aggregate lead with a clinical display of finishing in Romania. The visitors went ahead three minutes before half-time when Anton Žlogar pounced on defensive confusion to give his side the lead. The hosts almost levelled shortly after the restart when Eugen Trica's powerful strike from five metres out was somehow kept out by Arian Beqaj and from the ensuing counterattack William Cleite Boaventura made it 2-0. Lukasz Sosin scored a third on 59 minutes before Trica salvaged some hope of a comeback with a penalty ten minutes later.

AC Omonia 1-1 PFC CSKA Sofia
Omonia suffered an immediate setback when CSKA's Brazilian striker Aparesido Claudinei scored one of the fastest goals in UEFA Cup history with a 30-metre lob over goalkeeper Antonis Georgallides after just 18 seconds. Home captain Kostakis Kaiafas replied with a blistering strike of his own into the top left-hand corner on 14 minutes and the Cypriot side missed a glorious chance to take the lead on 58 minutes when Guilherme Weisheimer shot wide. The visitors had Valentin Iliev dismissed seven minutes later but held on for the draw.

Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC 1-1 Kayseri Erciyesspor
The Turkish visitors went ahead after just five minutes as Ilhan Özbay beat Dragoslav Jevrić from close range. The home team levelled on 42 minutes when debutant Rudy Haddad released French striker Yannick Kamanan to equalise and midfielder Omer Peretz almost made it 2-1 when he rattled the crossbar on 55 minutes and goalkeeper Yusuf Soysal denied Kamanan seconds later. That was the closest the Israeli side came to edging ahead in the tie.

NK Široki Brijeg 0-3 Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC
Hapoel left Bosnia-Herzegovina with a three-goal lead to defend in Israel in a fortnight. Široki Brijeg began the match brightly with Stanko Bubalo and Mislav Karoglan both going close in the opening stages but on 14 minutes Robson Gonçalves raced through to put Hapoel ahead. After a half-hour pause due to crowd disturbances, the players returned to the pitch and Lior Asulin made it 2-0 on 34 minutes, beating Dejan Bandović to the loose ball after Barukh Dego's free-kick rebounded off the far post. With 16 minutes left Gabriel Santos headed in a crossed free-kick to increase Hapoel's cushion.

KS Besa 0-3 PFC Litex Lovech
Two goals from Ivelin Popov and a Beto strike gave Litex a commanding lead to defend in Bulgaria in two weeks time. The visitors were ahead after 13 minutes in Albania when Popov raced free of his markers to break the deadlock. The striker was again on target seven minutes later and the match was put beyond doubt on 32 minutes when Brazilian forward Beto added a third.