Newcastle lead victorious six

FK Ventspils 0-1 Newcastle United FC
Central defender Titus Bramble was the unlikely hero as Newcastle triumphed in a match moved to the Latvian capital Riga. The English side twice went close to scoring with deflected shots in the first half, and made their dominance count in the 70th minute as Bramble rose between two defenders to head in Emre Belözoğlu's cross from the left.

Molde FK 0-0 Skonto FC
Ventspils' Latvian rivals Skonto will feel they hold the upper hand after this goalless draw in Norway. Molde centre-half Toni Kallio had three opportunities from corners in the second half, while the game's best chance fell to Thomas Mork whose 51st-minute shot brought a stunning save from visiting goalkeeper Andrejs Piedels. Skonto's best chance was an Andrejs Štolcers header which flew just wide on the quarter-hour mark.

FK Sūduva 0-2 Club Brugge KV
Club Brugge's European experience told as they won 2-0 in Lithuania to all but assure themselves of a place in the UEFA Cup proper. Sūduva were content to sit back from the off and paid the price after 18 minutes as Koen Daerden tapped into an empty net following fine approach play from Jonathan Blondel. Sūduva's chances were chiefly of the half variety - save for a Tomas Mikuckis opportunity just before half-time which he missed when unmarked at the far post - before the Belgian visitors scored again through Kevin Roelandts in the 72nd minute.

Randers FC 3-1 FBK Kaunas
Having won the Danish Cup and earned promotion last season, Randers' rapid rise shows no sign of slowing as they scored twice late on to establish control against their Lithuanian opponents. All the goals came in the second half, Senegalese forward Djiby Baye Fall opening the scoring for Randers (59) before Gvidas Juska equalised in the 79th minute. The home side stepped up the pace late on, and were rewarded through Issah Ahmed (82) and a Kenneth Pedersen penalty in added time.

IK Start 1-0 Drogheda United FC
Start were left to rue missed opportunities after emerging from their home game against Drogheda with only a one-goal advantage. Faroese forward Todi Jónsson was the main culprit, heading one chance wide and missing the target with another from close range. Fredrik Strømstad scored after 67 minutes with a good finish from Kristoffer Paulsen's cross.

Odense BK 1-0 Llanelli AFC
A goal from new Brazilian signing Bechara was enough to give OB a 1-0 lead to take into the second leg of their tie in Wales. Bruce Rioch's side were without ineligible new recruits Johan Absalonsen and Kim Christensen and did not create many opportunities. However, Bechara made his mark early in the second half, converting a cross from the left for the qualifiers from the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

FC Flora 0-0 Brøndby IF
The game sparked into life after an uneventful first half as Brøndby's increased desire to attack created counterattacking opportunities for Flora. From one such move, Joel Lindpere forced a decent save from visiting goalkeeper Casper Ankergren before Enver Jääger blasted a shot over the crossbar. Ankergren was sent off after 66 minutes for handling the ball outside the area with Andrei Sidorenkov through on goal, but Flora failed to press their advantage and were relieved to earn a draw after substitute Kasper Lorentzen's free-kick was saved by Pavel Londak in the final seconds.

FC Twente 1-1 FC Levadia Tallinn
Flora's city rivals Levadia are in with a great chance of progressing after scoring an away goal in the Netherlands. The Estonian side put themselves in pole position when 17-year-old striker Nikita Andreev dribbled past defenders Ramon Zomer and Rob Wielaert before beating goalkeeper Sander Boschker with a shot across goal (24). Half an hour later, left-back Jeroen Heubach equalised with a delightful curling free-kick. Sharbel Touma could have won the game for Twente, only to shoot tamely, while Luke Wilkshire and Heubach were also off target from range.

SK Brann 3-3 Åtvidabergs FF
Pontus Karlsson's 82nd-minute equaliser means a low-scoring draw in the second leg will be enough for Åtvidaberg to advance. Two Migen Memelli goals inside the first 26 minutes had given the Norwegian league leaders a comfortable start but Mats Haglund halved the deficit for the Swedish visitors before Kristan Bergström equalised on 48 minutes. Albanian striker Memelli completed his hat-trick, but Karlsson had the final say for Åtvidaberg.

Gretna FC 1-5 Derry City FC
Kevin Deery and Ciaran Martyn each scored twice in the second half as Derry recorded an emphatic win at neutral Fir Park. The club from the Scottish Borders were making their European debut and got off to a perfect start on 13 minutes when midfielder Ryan McGuffie volleyed in after a well-worked free-kick. Darren Kelly headed an equaliser ten minutes later and the Irish side never looked back as Geary beat Alan Main with two long-range efforts and Martyn followed suit two fine efforts of his own.