PARIS: Tottenham edged nervously into the UEFA Cup group stages on Thursday to ease the pressure on under-fire coach Juande Ramos but fellow English strugglers Everton crashed out.
Tottenham, rooted to the bottom of the Premier League, drew 1-1 with Wisla Krakow in Poland to secure a 3-2 aggregate win.
Pawel Brozek’s lobbed equaliser with seven minutes to go, following Arkadiusz Glowacki’s 58th-minute own goal for Tottenham, forced the Londoners to hang on grimly to go through, courtesy of their 2-1 win at White Hart Lane two weeks ago.
“The important thing is qualification,” said Ramos who led Sevilla to two UEFA Cup titles before switching to England.
“There was no euphoria at the end of the match, it was just a sense of getting the job done.”
Everton slumped to a 2-1 defeat against Standard Liege in Belgium to lose 4-3 on aggregate, a result which will pile the pressure onto manager David Moyes who has yet to sign a new contract with the Merseysiders.
Axel Witsel put the Belgians ahead in the 22nd minute before Everton levelled in the 67th minute when Phil Jagielka prodded the ball home after goalkeeper Rorys Aragon fumbled a cross.
But Milan Jovanovic grabbed the winner 12 minutes from time when he converted a penalty kick after he had been chopped down by Leighton Baines.
“We have had tough tests — all managers face difficult times, and I have had some,” admitted Moyes whose side reached the last 16 last season.
“No-one has a divine right to win football games. You have to earn the right to do so.”
England striker Peter Crouch was Portsmouth’s saviour in Portugal when he scored twice in extra time to salvage a 2-2 draw at Guimaraes and take Pompey, in their first season in Europe, into the group stages with a 4-2 aggregate win.
Portsmouth surrendered their two-goal first-leg advantage when Brazilian striker Douglas shot home in the 19th minute before England goalkeeper David James was caught out again by a 35-yard shot from midfielder Joao Alves.
But Crouch put Harry Redknapp’s men in front over the two legs with his 100th goal in club football when he headed in a Glen Johnson cross in the 104th minute before adding a decisive second on the night.
Manchester City, the richest club in the world, went through after a 2-1 home win over Omonia Nicosia of Cyprus for a 4-2 aggregate win with Brazilian Elano and Shaun Wright-Phillips on target.
“It was important for the development of the team that we progressed to the group stage and we have done that,” said City manager Mark Hughes.
Aston Villa were held 1-1 at home by Litex Lovech of Bulgaria but still went through 4-2 on aggregate.
Germany enjoyed a four-pronged success with Wolfsburg, Stuttgart, Schalke and Hamburg all moving into the group stages. But Borussia Dortmund were sent packing when they lost a penalty shoot-out with Udinese of Italy.
Elsewhere, seven-time European champions AC Milan beat FC Zurich 1-0 for a 4-1 aggregate win with Andriy Shevchencko on target for his 61st European goal. — AFP
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