Fate still in Fulham’s hands despite Dutch defeat

Fulham still have qualification for the knockout stages of the Europa League in their own hands despite going down to a late defeat at FC Twente yesterday.

With the match in Enschede heading for a goalless draw, giant Austrian Marc Janko struck with a minute remaining to guarantee the Dutch side top spot in Group K.

Martin Jol’s men, who finished the game with 10 men after Andy Johnson was sent off for a second booking in stoppage time, are second in the section with seven points.

The Cottagers will secure their place in the last 32 of the competition by matching Wisla Krakow’s result in the final round of group games in two weeks’ time.

Wisla won 2-1 away to Odense and lie a point behind Fulham before hosting Twente in their last match, while Fulham still have to play Odense in London.

After all three British representatives in action on Wednesday night lost, a strong Fulham line-up were looking to become the first visiting side to win in Enschede this season.

Fulham coach Martin Jol sent out an attacking line-up but they failed to muster a single shot on goal in a quiet first-half.

The match did spring to life after the break, and Andy Johnson squandered a golden chance to put the Premier League side ahead on 65 minutes when he dragged his shot wide after the ball had broken to him inside the area.

Luuk De Jong then missed the target with a free header from point-blank range at the other end, before a Danny Murphy free-kick was turned just wide by Bobby Zamora.

Under increasingly heavy rain, Twente struck the decisive blow when an Emir Bajrami cross from the right was turned home by substitute Janko.

Elsewhere, Raul further underlined his status as the greatest European goalscorer of all-time with the winner for Schalke in their home clash with Steaua Bucharest.

Raul Rusescu cancelled out Kyriakos Papadopoulos’ opener in Gelsenkirchen, but the Spanish legend netted the winner just before the hour-mark.

It was the former Real Madrid man’s 74th goal in UEFA competitions, putting him four clear of Filippo Inzaghi at the top of the all-time list.

The win secured Schalke top spot in the group with a game to spare, while second place remains up for grabs after AEK Larnaca beat Maccabi Haifa 2-1 in Nicosia.

In Group L, Anderlecht made it five wins from five with a 2-1 defeat of AEK Athens in Greece.

They are already through to the knockout stages, where they will be joined by Lokomotiv Moscow, who beat Sturm Graz 3-1 in Russia.

Stoke reached the last 32 of the competition after a 1-1 draw against Dynamo Kiev in their Group E match at the Britannia Stadium.

Kiev tooked the lead on 27 minutes when Oleksander Aliyev's shot was deflected past Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic by Matthew Upson.

But Stoke fought back and drew level on 81 minutes through Kenwyne Jones.

Results

Group D

Vaslui vs Lazio 0-0; Sporting Lisbon vs Zurich 2-0.
Standings: S. Lisbon 12; Lazio, Vaslui 6; Zurich 2.

Group E

Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Besiktas 2-3; Stoke vs Dynamo Kiev 1-1.
Standings: Stoke 11; Besiktas 9; D. Kiev 6; Maccabi 1.

Group F

Salzburg vs Paris SG 2-0; Athletic Bilbao vs Slovan Bratislava 2-1.
Standings: A. Bilbao 13; Paris St Germain, Salzburg 7; S. Bratislava 1.

Group J

AEK Larnaca vs Maccabi Haifa 2-2; Schalke vs Steaua Bucharest 2-1.
Standings: Schalke 11; M. Haifa 6; S. Bucharest, AEK Larnaca 5.

Group K

Twente vs Fulham 1-0; Odense vs Wisla Krakow 1-2.
Standings: Twente 13; Fulham 7; W. Krakow 6; Odense 3.

Group L

Lokomotiv Moscow vs Sturm Graz 3-1. 19.00 AEK Athens vs Anderlecht 1-2.
Standings: Anderlecht 15; Lokomotiv Moscow 12; S. Graz 3; AEK Athens 0.