Wolfsburg and Paris edge ahead
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
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Holders VfL Wolfsburg and highly-fancied Paris Saint-Germain both scraped narrow wins on the opening night of the UEFA Women's Champions League round of 32.
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Holders VfL Wolfsburg and highly-fancied Paris Saint-Germain both scraped narrow victories, while 1. FFC Frankfurt were held and Brøndby IF were beaten in the first legs of their UEFA Women's Champions League round of 32 ties.
The other opening instalments are on Thursday with Irish champions Raheny United facing Bristol Academy WFC and debutants ACF Brescia welcoming two-time winners Olympique Lyonnais; the returns are next Wednesday and Thursday.
Stabæk FK 0-1 VfL Wolfsburg
• This was relatively comfortable for the visitors despite the scoreline. Wolfsburg were superior for much of the game but only found a way through on one occasion, captain Nilla Fischer scoring with a a header early in the second half.
FC BIIK-Kazygurt 2-2 1. FFC Frankfurt
• Gulnara Gabelia's close-range header unexpectedly put the Kazakh side in front and though Verónica Boquete's sweet finish and a long-range Dzsenifer Marozsán effort turned the tables, Nikoleta Nikolić levelled in added time.
Liverpool LFC 2-1 Linköpings FC
• Linköping had the better of the early exchanges but on 14 minutes Gemma Davison's long shot was deflected in for debutants Liverpool. Home keeper Libby Stout almost immediately denied Kristine Minde but when the Norwegian was played clear again on 36 minutes she made no mistake to equalise. Substitute Nicole Rolser hit the bar for Liverpool in the second half but Stout was still the busier keeper before Natasha Dowie pounced with 18 minutes left after a ball across by Lucy Bronze.
Ryazan-VDV 1-3 FC Rosengård
• The Russian hosts held out in the first half but Katrin Schmidt and Marta put the renamed FCR Malmö into a 2-0 lead just past the hour. Ksenia Tsybutovich reduced arrears but Anja Mittag restored the two-goal cushion for the Swedish champions in added time.
FC Twente 1-2 Paris Saint-Germain
• Kosovare Asllani's splendid tenth-minute opener set Paris on their way, with the visitors' No9 also playing a role in their second by teeing up Shirley Cruz Traña to finish. The French side did not have it all their own way, however, and Twente halved the arrears through Ellen Jansen just after the hour.
Stjarnan 2-5 WFC Zvezda-2005
• Zvezda-2005, runners-up in 2009, prevailed thanks to four goals from José Nahi, who put the Russians 2-0 up inside 12 minutes. Though Harpa Thorsteinsdóttir pulled one back and Kristrún Kristjánsdóttir made it 3-2 following Nahi's hat-trick goal, Nahi and Daryna Apanaschenko added gloss to the scoreline late on.
Apollon LFC 1-0 Brøndby IF
• England forward Lianne Sanderson, one of several Apollon loan signings from American clubs, converted a last-minute penalty to give Apollon victory against the two-time semi-finalists. Sanderson, the game's outstanding player, had hit a post early on, while Katrine Veje threatened on the left for the Danish visitors. However, the game was decided after Mie Janes brought down Apollon substitute Anti Violari.
Clube Atlético Ouriense 0-3 Fortuna Hjørring
• The 2003 runners-up made light work of the Portuguese club to make this stage. A goal apiece from Sofie Pedersen and Line Jensen in the space of a minute, plus Nadia Nadim's late spot-kick was enough for Fortuna, though Ouriense did come close to registering when Pisco's shot struck the bar.
SK Slavia Praha 0-1 FC Barcelona
• More than 4,000 spectators watched on as Barcelona edged the first leg in Prague. The decisive moment came with just eight minutes left when defender Ruth García headed in a Alexia Putellas corner. Virginia Torrecilla could have doubled the visitors' advantage but struck a post late on.
Gintra Universitetas 1-1 AC Sparta Praha
• Through the qualifying round at the 11th attempt, Lithuanua's Gintra levelled with nine minutes left through Kamilė Vaičiulaitytė's powerful shot from ten metres out. Karolína Křivská had turned in Adéla Odehnalová's cross to break the deadlock and on 55 minutes Eva Bartoňová had a shot cleared from the line by a defender.
ŽNK Pomurje 2-4 ASD Torres Calcio
• Pomurje have scored 93 goals in their five league games in Slovenia so far, but were 2-0 down inside 30 minutes against Torres. Though goals from Mateja Zver and Manja Rogan – direct from a corner – levelled the scores, the Italians are in the ascendancy thanks to subsequent efforts from Joana Flaviano and Veronica Maglia.
MTK Hungária FC 1-2 SV Neulengbach
• A header from Nina Burger and Daniela Tasch's close-range finish gave the Austrian outfit victory against MTK, who pulled a goal back through Rita Méry. MTK captain Angéla Smuczer spurned a fine chance to equalise late on.
KKPK Medyk Konin 2-0 Glasgow City LFC
• In front of a sell-out 4,000 crowd in Konin, the Polish debutants continued their fine form from the qualifying round by beating the more experienced Glagow. Ewa Pajor took her season tally to eight goals from distance and Aleksandra Sikora made it two with a cross-cum-shot that fooled the visiting defence.
ŽNK Osijek 2-5 FC Zürich Frauen
• Competing for the right to face Medyk or Glasgow, Osijek stole a march through Maja Joščak after ten minutes. The away side equalised on the stroke of half-time and added four more in the second period. The hosts' misery was compounded by the late dismissal of Izabela Lojna.
Reporters: Vegard Eikrem, Anton Gasparyan, Dmitry Lazarev, Timen Llurba,Carlos Machado, Dmitry Portnov, Paul Saffer, Rok Šinkovc, Yegor Sozinov,Sergey Vorobyov, Matthew Watson-Broughton & Ondřej Zlámal
Round of 16 draw (8/9 & 12/13 November)
Osijek/Zürich v Medyk Konin/Glasgow
Ryazan-VDV/Rosengård v Atlético Ouriense/Fortuna
Twente/Paris v Brescia/Lyon
Stabæk/Wolfsburg v MTK/Neulengbach
Liverpool/Linköping v Stjarnan/Zvezda-2005
Slavia/Barcelona v Raheny/Bristol
BIIK/Frankfurt v Pomurje/Torres
Apollon/Brøndby v Gintra/Sparta
Tournament calendar
Quarter-final & Semi-final draw: 19 November
Quarter-finals: 21/22 & 28/29 March
Semi-finals: 18/19 & 25/26 April
Final (Berlin): 14 May