UEFA Cup: Braga march into next round

Sporting Braga 2-0 Crvena Zvezda

Braga beat Crvena Zvezda 2-0 last night to finish second in Group F and thus join Benfica and Sporting in the last 32 of the Uefa Cup. A goal in each half from Roland Linz and Wender were enough to give a dominant Braga the result they needed to progress.

The hosts kicked off knowing a victory by two clear goals would guarantee their place in the next round of the competition.

A bright start was rewarded after just eleven minutes when Brazilian winger Wender produced some great wing play to skip past his marker and whip a tantalising cross into the box, where the sliding Linz made no mistake. The Austrian has now scored in nine of Braga’s last thirteen matches.

The only time the Serbians threatened in the first half was on 15 minutes but Castillo’s header was easily gathered by Paulo Santos.

On the half hour mark Jorginho shot just wide, and three minutes before the break Wender should have done better when set up by Linz, but his strike lacked conviction, allowing Banovic to save.

Santos save

The second period started in lively fashion with Vandinho going close to doubling Braga’s lead with a shot from distance, before Milovanovic forced Santos into a sharp save in the 51st minute.

Linz then shot over when well placed, but man-of-the-match Wender put the result beyond doubt with a fine individual goal in the 66th minute. The Brazilian ended a strong run into the visitors’ box with a clinical cross-shot into the corner of the net to spark celebrations among the crowd.

Linz and substitute Jailson came close to adding a third, but although no more goals were added Braga further enhanced their reputation in Europe with an assured performance that saw them end the group phase of the competition unbeaten.

The Arsenalistas will now face a team entering the competition from the Champions League. Their possible opponents are Marseille, Rosenborg, Werder Bremen, Rangers, PSV Eindhoven or Slavia Prague. The draw for the next round takes place in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday.

Sporting Braga:
Paulo Santos, Joao Pereira, Paulo Jorge, Rodriguez, Carlos Fernandes, Frechaut, Robert Brum (Andres Madrid, 89), Jorginho (Jailson, 74), Vandinho, Wender (Cesar Peixoto, 71), Linz
Yellow Cards: Paulo Jorge

Crvena Zvezda:
Zoran Banovic, Dusan Basta (Lucas, 18), Milos Bajalica, Vladimir Dordevic, Dusan Andelkovic, Castillo, Milovanovic, Salas Franklin (Maurício, 60), Nenad Milijas, Koroman e Hernan Barcos (Filip Dordevic)
Yellow Cards: Koroman (84)

Goals:
[1-0] Linz, 11
[2-0] Wender, 66