Partizan 3
Valletta 1
(Partizan win 7-2 on aggregate)
Two goals from Nemanja Tomic helped Partizan Belgrade to see off a spirited Valletta side as the home side eased to a 3-1 win in Serbia last night.
Despite falling behind after 10 minutes, the Citizens showed great character to get back into the match when Michael Mifsud put them level early in the second half.
But Partizan’s superiority came to the fore late on as they netted two quick goals to seal a 3-1 win and progress 7-2 on aggregate. In the next round they face either AEL Limassol, of Cyprus, or Ireland’s Linfield.
Partizan were off to a flyer and after six minutes Lazar Markovic unleashed a powerful drive that hit the bar. On their next opportunity, the hosts took the lead.
The clock marked 10 minutes when Nikola Aksentijevic sent a teasing cross into the path of Tomic who headed past Andre Krul.
Despite this early setback, Valletta tried to get back into the match and as the minutes passed they started to share the exchanges with their opponents.
On the half hour, William Barbosa came close to an equaliser but his stinging drive was pushed away to a corner by Partizan goalkeeper Nikola Petrovic.
On 36 minutes, Partizan were close to double their lead when Stefan Babovic profited from some poor City defending but his low drive came off the woodwork.
Valletta made a bright start to the second half and on the hour they drew level. The impressive William Barbosa released Mifsud and the Malta striker beat Petrovic with a firm drive.
However, the City joy lasted only seven minutes as Partizan soon regained their lead when Tomic’s long-range shot flew past Krul.
The Serbs stepped up the tempo and wrapped their win on 73 minutes when Aksentijevic burst into the area and his shot came off the upright. But from the rebound Aleksander Mitrovic stabbed the ball into an empty net.
Partizan: N. Petrovic, V. Volkov, I. Ivanov, M. Ostojic, N. Aksentijevic, S. Markovic, S. Ilic, L. Markovic, S. Babovic (66 Z. Vukic), N. Tomic (N. Ninkovic), S. Scepovic (64 A. Mitrovic).
Valletta: A. Krul, I. Azzopardi, S.Borg, R. Briffa, Gabriel, Denni (51 R. Fenech), J. Caruana (46 E. Agius), M. Mifsud, W. Barbosa, Riccardo, D. Falzon (85 G. Agius).
Referee: S. Sidiropoulos (Greece).
Champions League
Second qualifying round (second legs)
| Played yesterday | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Agg. |
| Slovan Liberec (CZE) vs S. Karagandy (KAZ) (after extra-time) | 1-0 | 1-1 | 2-1 |
| Molde FK (NOR) vs FK Ventspils (LVA) | 3-0 | 1-1 | 4-1 |
| F91 Dudelange (LUX) vs Salzburg (AUT) (Dudelange through on away goals) | 1-0 | 3-4 | 4-4 |
| MSK Zilina (SVK) vs H. Kiryat Shmona (ISR) | 1-0 | 0-2 | 1-2 |
| Shamrock Rovers (IRL) vs FK Ekranas (LTU) | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-2 |
| Neftci PFK (AZE) vs Zestafoni (GEO) | 3-0 | 2-2 | 5-2 |
| Ulisses (ARM) vs Sheriff (MDA) | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-2 |
| Flora Tallinn (EST) vs FC Basel (SUI) | 0-2 | 0-3 | 0-5 |
| KS Skenderbeu (ALB) vs Debreceni (HUN) | 1-0 | 0-3 | 1-3 |
| Valletta (MLT) vs Partizan Belgrade (SRB) | 1-4 | 1-3 | 2-7 |
| NK Maribor (SVN) vs FK Zeljeznicar (BIH) | 4-1 | 2-1 | 6-2 |
| HJK Helsinki (FIN) vs KR Reykjavik (ISL) | 7-0 | 2-1 | 9-1 |
| Playing today | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Agg. |
| The New Saints (WAL) vs Helsingborgs (SWE) | 0-0 | ||
| BATE Borisov (BLR) vs FK Vardar (MKD) | 3-2 | ||
| AEL Limassol (CYP) vs Linfield (NIR) | 3-0 | ||
| L. Razgrad (BUL) vs Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) | 1-1 | ||
| Buducnost (MNE) vs Slask Wroclaw (POL) | 0-2 |
Note: First named teams play second leg away.
Third qualifying round: July 31-Aug. 1 and Aug. 7-8.