Chelsea gets late goal in 1-1 draw
Posted: Thursday October 22, 1998 07:54 PM
| |
Referee sandwich: Kjell Raor from Vaalerengen (right) Besiktas' Solar Alvarez (left) scramble for the ball AP |
LONDON (AP) -- Defending champion Chelsea salvaged a 1-1 draw with FC Copenhagen Thursday in the second round of the Cup Winners Cup, and Italy's Lazio - likely pretenders to the crown - settled for a scoreless tie at home with Partizan Belgrade.
Chelsea's French World Cup star Marcel Desailly scored three minutes into second-half injury time on a shot that went in off the post.
In the other six second-round games: Valerenga 1, Besiktas 0; Heerenveen 2, Varteks 1; Genk 1, Mallorca 1; Pathionios 3, Apollon Limassol 2; SV Ried 2, Maccabi Haifa (Israel) 1; Lokomotiv Moscow 3, Braga 1.
In a second-round, first-leg UEFA Cup game, Rangers defeated Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 in Germany.
In Chelsea's draw, the Danes appeared to have won in the 81st when Bjarne Goldbaek scored after a lapse by the Chelsea defense.
Chelsea, despite a wide margin of play and showcasing a team stocked with high-priced players from a dozen countries, faces a difficult game in two weeks in Copenhagen in the second leg.
FC Copenhagen had its best chance to score early when David Nielsen missed an open net in the 23rd.
Chelsea's Gianfranco Zola came back 10 minutes later with a shot off the goal upright and, in the 55th, Pierluigi Casirahgi also hit the upright.
"We have to be a bit cooler in front of goal because that is what football is all about," said coach Gianluca Vialli. "Teams are making it harder for us because they put extra effort in against the holders."
"I am not entirely happy with the performance, but 1-1 is better than a 1-0 win for the opposition," he added.
Chelsea remains unbeaten at home in all European competition. The English side is also unbeaten in 11 games this season and is trying to become the first team to win the Cup Winners Cup in back-to-back seasons. And the last.
This cup disappears next season as it's merged with the UEFA Cup.
In Rome, Lazio dominated but, with a slew of strikers injured, failed to find the target in a 0-0 draw.
Veteran forward Roberto Mancini came closest to scoring for the Italians with 16 minutes left. He took a pass from Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved and flicked a lob from just outside the penalty area that hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced down just in front of the goal line.
"We played a good game and probably deserved to win. At least we did not allow any goals, but the next game will be tough now," Lazio's Luca Marchegiani said.
The site for the return leg is to be decided next week and may be moved away from Belgrade because of the situation in Kosovo.
In Athens, Mark Robins scored the winner in the 57th as Panionios Athens beat Apollon Limassol of Cyprus 3-2. Milenco Spoliaric gave Apollon a 1-0 lead in the 13th, but Antonis Sapountzis leveled in the 24th on a free kick and Garry Haylock made it 2-1 on a 39th minute header. Spoliaric scored his second a minute later on a blistering shot.
In Moscow, Dmitry Bulykin scored two first-half goals - in the 22nd and 35th - as last season's semifinalists Lokomotiv Moscow beat Portugal's Braga 3-1. Brazil's Odair Borges made it 2-1 for Braga in the first minute of the second half on a free kick. Igor Chugainov scored on a penalty in the 60th minute for the Russians. Braga goalkeeper Silva Quim was sent off on a red card in the final minutes for handling the ball outside the area.
In Heerenveen, Netherlands, Johan Hansma scored in the 88th to break a 1-1 tie and give SC Heerenveen 2-1 win over Croatia's NK Varteks. Dennis de Nooijer opened for the Dutch in the 57th minute and Miljenko Mumlek evened in the 63rd.
In Brussels, a closerange header from striker Souleymane Oulare in the 71st minute earned Racing Genk a 1-1 home draw with Real Mallorca after Daniel "Dani" Garcia gave the panish club the lead in the 56th.
In Linz, Austria, SV Ried defeated Maccabi Haifa 2-1 on goals from Maciej Sliwowski and Gerald Strafner. Alon Mizrahi scored for Maccabi Haifa.
In Oslo, Norway, Valerenga defeated Turkey's Besiktas 1-0 on a goal in the 48th by Bjorn Arild Levernes in front of a crowd of 6,284.
In Leverkusen, Gemany, in a UEFA Cup second-round, first-leg game, Scotland's Rangers won at Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 on goals by Jonatan Johansson and Giovanni Van Bronckhorst. Thomas Reichenberger scored late for the Germans, who were Champions Cup quarterfinalists last season.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
