Canadians playing in UEFA competition

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tromso (Hirschfeld, Ademolu, Bernier) 1 - Galatasaray 1
Bernier with the goal, Tromso advances 2-1 on aggregate

PAOK Saloniki (Fernandes) 2 - Metalurg Donetsk 2
PAOK advances to group stage

Austria Vienna 2 - 1 Viking (Grande)
Viking advance to group stage on aggregate

Rapid Bucharest 1 - 0 Feyenoord (DeGuzman)
Feyenoord eliminated

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to Jeffrey S at Vs for headsup

Match report
http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UEFACup/FixturesResults/Round=2208/match=81861/Report=RP.html

http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Photo/competitions/UEFACup/347699_MEDIUMSQUARE.jpg
Ole Martin Årst and Stephan Ademolu celebrate Tromsø's goal at Galatasaray (©Getty Images)

Tromsø triumphant in Istanbul
Thursday, 29 September 2005

Tromsø IL staged a UEFA Cup upset as they completed a 2-1 aggregate victory against Turkish giants Galatasaray SK with a 1-1 draw in Istanbul to claim their place in the group stage.

Bernier boost
The Tippeligaen side travelled to Istanbul with a one-goal lead from the first leg a fortnight ago but Patrice Bernier's first-half strike changed the face of the tie and despite Hakan Şükür's second-half goal for Galatasaray, it was Tromsø who achieved a famous triumph.

Attacking intent
The visitors started positively with Lars Iver Strand testing Colombian goalkeeper Faryd Mondragón inside three minutes and it was clear Tromsø were not content to try and absorb the inevitable pressure. The Norwegian side suffered a setback on ten minutes when defender Morten Pedersen went off injured, which seemed to give the Turkish side a sudden boost in confidence.

Hirschfeld heroics
Lars Hirschfeld had to be on his toes to save a Necati Ates drive, while Ümit Karan was also denied thanks to fine work from the Tromsø custodian. Ümit then hit the post on 22 minutes with a powerful shot and just seven minutes later Marek Heinz also struck the frame of the goal. But with 33 minutes on the clock the Norwegian side took the lead against the run of play as Bernier drilled a shot unerringly into the net from the edge of the penalty area.

Substitute strikes
Galatasaray came out for the second half with renewed vigour and Necati Ates and Hasan Sas both went close. The home side threw men forward and with 13 minutes remaining Hakan Sükür, a first-half substitute, latched onto Sabri Sarıoglu's cross to give the Turkish team late hope.

Hasan Sas effort
Tromsø's defending became more and more desperate and with two minutes left Benjamin Kibebe gave away a free-kick in a dangerous position, but Hasan Sas fired his effort straight at Hirschfeld and the Norwegian side were through.

Edit: Off topic posts moved to Canadian soccer problem thread

[PAO_HELLAS]

Fernadez had some good performances with PAOK, it looks like he is getting the place in the first eleven.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Home team in bold

Viking (Grande) 1 - Monaco 0
Grande starts plays 73m gets yellow

AS Roma 2 - Tromso (Hirschfeld, Ademolu, Bernier) 1
Hirschfeld and Bernier start for Tromso, Ademolu brought in at 68m misses good opportunity
Roma get winning goal at 84m

Shakhtar Donetsk 1 - PAOK Saloniki (Fernandes) 0
Fernandes starts and stars in goal for PAOK who lose 1-0 on 2nd half penalty

[supersjd]

Home team in bold

Viking (Grande) 1 - Monaco 0
Grande starts plays 73m gets yellow

AS Roma 2 - Tromso (Hirschfeld, Ademolu, Bernier) 1
Hirschfeld and Bernier start for Tromso, Ademolu brought in at 68m misses good opportunity
Roma get winning goal at 84m

Shakhtar Donetsk 1 - PAOK Saloniki (Fernandes) 0
Fernandes starts and stars in goal for PAOK who lose 1-0 on 2nd half penalty

Do all or any of these guys play on the national team?

[Joe MacCarthy]

Do all or any of these guys play on the national team?Lars Hirschfeld is Canada's number two goalie. He basically has saved (pardon the expression) Tromso from relegation since he has joined the team and should be able to get permanent work somewhere after his great half season. He will fight for the Canada number one position when playing regularly, as he is now.

Patrice Bernier and Sandro Grande are in and out of the Canada lineup sometimes starting sometimes subbing. I wouldn't say they are etched in stone choices for the Nats.

Stephen Ademolu is new on the scene. He went to a Florida camp for Canada and I am not sure if he impressed because he wasn't looked at after that. I am hoping he and Rob Friend (Molde) will get a call for the upcoming Luxembourg game just to add to the available depth.

Daniel Fernandes is a mystery. A big kid (6'5") he has had some impressive trial spells. He was invited to the U20 camp a few years back and fans were saying he should be a lock because he was in the Celta Vigo system.

The job was won by Alim Karim (Syracuse) who was spectacular at the WYC. Fernandes has not been invited (IIRC) to any camps since. He has just settled into the number one job at PAOK getting some starts lately. Apparently in this last game he was great but he has been inconsistant possibly because he is still inexperienced.

Nonetheless he has huge potential and it would be nice to see him get a call for a looksee vs Luxembourg.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to LMS at Vs for headsup

Daniel Fernandes on the Fifa.com main page. You can tell he's a good Canadian boy check out the hip check :)

http://www.fifa.com/images/cms/afp/Donezk_bg.jpg
Air show in Donetzk: PAOK Salonika goalkeeper Daniel Fernandes shows that he can be cool and collected under pressure even with Donetzk's Ciprian Maica breathing down his neck. The two sides met in the UEFA Cup on Thursday 20 October. Donetzk needed a second half penalty to win the match 1-0, with Brandão the scorer.

[supersjd]

lol sweet hip check ... great to see canadian players doing well.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tromso (Hirschfeld, Ademolu, Bernier) 3 - Crvena Zvezda 1
Hirschfeld, Bernier start, Ademolu in at 71'

Stuttgart 2 - PAOK Saloniki (Fernandes) 1
Fernandes in goal, Stuttgart score at 85' and on a PK at 90'

Viking (Grande) 2 - 2 Slavia Prague
Grande injured, not in lineup

[Joe MacCarthy]

Match report
Årst keeps Tromsø in contention
Thursday, 24 November 2005

http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UEFACup/FixturesResults/Round=2209/match=81955/Report=RP.html

Tromsø IL kept alive their hopes of earning a place in the UEFA Cup knockout stages as Ole Martin Årst scored twice to help the Norwegian team to a 3-1 victory against FK Crvena Zvezda in Group E.

Kibebe opener
Both teams went into the game at the Alfheim stadium seeking their first points of the group stage, but the home side's need was the greater as they had already played two games to the Serbo-Montenegrin outfit's one. That hunger was reflected when the game started as Tromsø began firmly on the front foot, taking the lead through Benjamin Kibebe midway through the half. Nicola Žigić equalised two minutes later but Årst restored the lead before the interval and then added a second-half penalty as Steinar Nilsen's side secured a vital win.

Stojković saves
Tromsø finished the match as they had started it, looking to push forward at every opportunity, and midfielder Roar Christensen almost got the Norwegian side off to the best of starts, forcing Vladimir Stojković into a full-length save with a blistering shot from 25 metres on ten minutes. The visitors offered little in return, although Lars Hirschfeld was called upon to keep out Dušan Basta's effort as Tromsø continued to press and Patrice Bernier forced a stinging save from Stojković on 20 minutes after a blistering volley.

Patient approach
The besieged goalkeeper could do nothing about Kibebe's fizzing long-range effort two minutes later, but his side soon regained parity when Žigić headed in Basta's looping cross. The goal caught Tromsø cold, but the home team kept their composure and remained patient, eventually reaping their reward when Årst made it 2-1 eight minutes before half-time. The visitors almost repeated their earlier trick with a rapid equaliser, but Joachim Walltin made a crucial block to deny Nenad Kovačević, and that proved their last real opportunity.

Hopes alive
Tromsø were content to sit back on their lead and keep the ball in midfield after the restart, and with 16 minutes remaining Årst secured victory from the penalty spot after Milan Dudić had felled Karim Essediri. The Norwegian side now lie third in Group E with three points, while Crvena Zvezda remain pointless at the bottom, although their chances have not yet been extinguished in what is proving to be a tight section.

Piták pounces to save Slavia
Thursday, 24 November 2005

http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UEFACup/FixturesResults/Round=2209/match=81947/Report=RP.html

Karel Piták scored a late equaliser as SK Slavia Praha twice came from behind to earn a battling 2-2 draw against Viking FK in Stavanger, which keeps the two sides level on points in UEFA Cup Group A.

Stuttgart comeback stuns PAOK
Thursday, 24 November 2005

http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UEFACup/FixturesResults/Round=2209/match=81958/Report=RP.html

Danijel Ljuboja scored two goals in the last five minutes to secure a remarkable comeback victory for VfB Stuttgart against PAOK FC in UEFA Cup Group G despite the visitors playing the last 15 minutes in Salonika with ten men.

Karipidis header
Trailing to a Hristos Karipidis header three minutes after the restart, the Bundesliga side's hopes looked to have vanished when Silvio Meissner was dismissed after receiving two yellow cards in the space of a minute. But Ljuboja silenced the capacity crowd at the Toumba stadium with an equaliser on 85 minutes, and when Nigerian defender Ifeanyi Udeze was sent off after hauling down substitute Mario Gómez in added time, it was the Serbo-Montenegrin striker who stepped up to calmly slot in the resulting spot-kick.

Testing Tomasson
Victory took Stuttgart second in Group G as the German side bounced back from their Matchday 2 defeat by section leaders FC Shakhtar Donetsk, and they started the match on the front foot. With Christian Tiffert orchestrating things in midfield, Jon Dahl Tomasson enjoyed a busy opening spell and tested Daniel Fernandes' reflexes twice. But PAOK's defence soon recovered their composure, and the Danish striker struggled to breach their obdurate back line as the home side began to make inroads of their own.

Feutchine disappoints
Cameroonian international Guy Armand Feutchine could have broken the deadlock just before the break with a free header that he contrived to direct straight into the arms of Timo Hildebrand. Spurred on by 25,000 fans, the home side did make the breakthrough three minutes after half-time though, Karipidis rising to power in Ilias Charalambous' corner after a flick-on by Amir Azmy Megahed.

Meissner dismissal
The game seemingly slipping away from them, Stuttgart coach Giovanni Trapattoni tried to shake things up just after the hour, bringing on Mario Gómez in place of Tomasson. But the substitution failed to catalyse the side, whose hopes took a further knock when Meissner was dismissed with 15 minutes remaining following a tackle on Charalambous. But Ljuboja then scored with a sumptuous 25-metre effort to spark a stunning Stuttgart comeback to leave PAOK's hopes in tatters as they remain rooted to the foot of the section with no points from two games.