British clubs progress in UEFA Cup with match to go

All four British clubs in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup made sure of reaching the knock-out phase of the competition with a game to spare.

Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle qualified in style, claiming all the points from their opening three matches.

While Newcastle played their last game last Thursday (0-0 away to Eintracht Frankfurt to finish on top of the group), Tottenham, Blackburn and Rangers will play their remaining match next week (Wednesday or Thursday).

Rangers are not doing well in domestic competitions at the moment but they should be more focused on the UEFA Cup as the ultimate showdown will be played at Hampden Park on May 16.

The scorers

These tallies do not include qualification matches before the group phase.

4 - Berbatov (Tottenham).

3 - Novo (Rangers).

2 - Adam, Boyd (Rangers); Sibierski (Newcastle).

1 - McCarthy, Savage, Bentley, Tugay, Jeffers (Blackburn); Luque, Taylor (Blackburn); Ghaly, Keane (Tottenham).

Other football news of interest for November:

• Benfica trounce Celtic 3-0 in Lisbon. Other Champions League group matches outcomes: FC Copenhagen-Manchester United 1-0, Arsenal-CSKA Moscow 0-0.

• In UEFA Cup group games, Newcastle win 1-0 away against Palermo.

Other results: Rangers-Maccabi Haifa 2-0, Tottenham Hotspur-Club Brugge 3-1, Blackburn-Basle 3-0. British clubs top their respective groups following back-to-back wins.

• On November 6, Alex Ferguson celebrated 20 years of management at Old Trafford.

• League Cup holders Manchester United fall to Southend, of the second division, 0-1 away in the fourth round.

• At Ibrox Park, Rangers are shocked by First Division side St Johnstone 0-2 in the quarter-finals of the League Cup.

• The Football Association is fined £4,222 by UEFA for the conduct of England fans before the Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia in Zagreb.

United accolades

• Manchester United duo, Alex Ferguson and Paul Scholes, are named Manager and Player of the Month for October respectively.

• FA Cup shocks for the first round: Chesterfield-Basingstoke 0-1, Rushden-Yeovil 3-1.

• At McDiarmid Park, Perth, Ross County topple Clyde 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out, 1-1 after extra time, to lift the Bell's Cup (a knock-out contest for non-Premier clubs).

• In an U-21 friendly in Alkmaar, England defeat the Netherlands 1-0 (Hoyte). In a friendly international, Wales beat Liechtenstein 4-0 at home.

• Wayne Rooney, of Manchester United, scores for England in a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands in Amsterdam. At 18, Manchester City's Micah Richards becomes the youngest defender to represent the English national side.

• In a European qualification match, Ireland crush San Marino 5-0 (Reid, Doyle, Keane 3) at home. Tottenham's Robbie Keane nets his first treble for his country.

• At Anfield, Liverpool defeat PSV Eindhoven 2-0 to win their group in the Champions League while Chelsea, despite going down 0-1 to Werder Bremen away, still qualify.

Celtic also advance to the KO phase after their home 1-0 defeat of Manchester United for the first time in their history.

• Former England defender Gareth Southgate has been given permission by the Premier League Board to remain at Middlesbrough's helm for the rest of the season.

• Rangers (away Auxerre 2-2), Newcastle (home Celta Vigo 2-1), Blackburn Rovers (away Feyenoord 0-0) and Tottenham Hotspur (away Bayer Leverkusen 1-0), advance to the knock-out phase of the UEFA Cup.

• Newcastle draw their last outing in the UEFA Cup in Frankfurt against Eintracht to finish on top of their group.

Leading marksmen

Premier League
8 - Doyle (Reading), Kanu (Portsmouth), Drogba (Chelsea)

7 - Saha, Rooney (Man. United)

6 - Johnson (Everton), Bent D. (Charlton), Kuyt (Liverpool), Barry (Aston Villa), Henry (Arsenal)

The Championship
13 - Rasiak (Southampton), Earnshaw (Norwich)

11 - Chopra (Cardiff)

10 - Gray (Burnley), Cureton (Colchester)

Scottish Premier
11 - Stokes (Falkirk - on loan from Arsenal)

09 - Killen (Hibernian)

08 - Boyd (Rangers), McDonald (Motherwell)