SOCCER - EUROPA LEAGUE
2009/10
Qualifier 2nd Leg - FK Vetra Vilnius (0) @ (3) Fulham - In a driving rainstorm, Fulham won their 1st ever Europa Cup tie and eased into the Cup competition proper with a comfortable 6-0 aggregate win. All the goals came in the 2nd half, with Dickson Etuhu and Andy Johnson (2) on target. The game was also the 1st Europa League game played in England (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Qualifier 2nd Leg - Rapid Vienna (1) @ (2) Aston Villa - In the final qualifying round, Rapid Vienna saw off Aston Villa with a late goal. Villa were 1 goal down from the first leg but wrestled the initiative with goals from James Milner and John Carew. But a goal with 15 minutes remaining from Nikica Jelavic gave Rapid the victory on the "away goals" rule (10, 2 Discs, CH5 - Woods/Taylor, PAL)
Group E - AS Roma (1) @ (1) Fulham - Fulham consolidated their position in Group E with a home draw against Roma. Fulham took a 1st half lead with a Brede Hangeland headed goal and looked certain to take all 3 points for the win but Roma equalised with the last kick of the game to steal a draw. Fulham were the better team in the 1st half but Roma took control in the 2nd half after bringing on substitutes David Pizarro and Simone Perotta. Roma missed a penalty and were playing against 10 men for the final 14 minutes before Marco Andreolli scored the last gasp winner (10, 2 Discs, CH5 - Woods/Taylor, PAL)
Group E - Fulham (3) @ (2) FC Basel - In snowy Switzerland, Fulham needed to win to reach the next round of the tournament while Basel just needed a draw. Fulham started strong and led 2-0 at the half with 2 goals from Bobby Zamora. Basel pulled the game back within reach with a penalty but Zoltan Gera scored soon after to put the game beyond doubt and, despite a late goal from Basel, Fulham were through (10, 2 Discs, ESPN UK - Champion/Burley, PAL)
Last 32 1st Leg - Shakhtar Donetsk (1) @ (2) Fulham - On a rainy night in London, Fulham secured a crucial 1st leg advantage over the current champions with a fantastic goal from Bobby Zamora. Fulham started fast with a Zoltan Gera goal on 3 minutes but Shakhtar took control of the game and Adriano equalised before half-time. Shakhtar run out of gas in the 2nd half and Zamora made them pay with a thumping shot from the edge of the area that the keeper didn't see go by him. The win kept Fulham's unbeaten home streak in Europe intact (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Beglin, PAL)
Last 32 2nd Leg - Fulham (1) @ (1) Shakhtar Donetsk - Fulham put on a gritty performance to knock out the current champions and advance to the next round. A 1st half goal from defender Brett Hangeland was cancelled out by a 2nd half strike from Jadson but Fulham held on late to go through 3-2 on aggregate (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Earle, PAL)
Last 16 1st Leg - Fulham (1) @ (3) Juventus - Juventus showed their class with an easy 1st leg win in Turin. All the goals were scored in the 1st half with Nicola Legrottaglie, Jonathan Zebina and David Trezeguet scoring for Juventus and Dixon Etuhu scoring the lone reply for Fulham. Juventus also featured Fabio Cannavaro, Fabio Grosso and Diego. Fulham also featured Bobby Zamora and Zoltan Gera but were missing Danny Murphy to suspension (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Beglin, PAL)
Last 16 2nd Leg - Juventus (1) @ (4) Fulham - Fulham completed a remarkable comeback at the Cottage to advance to the Quarter Finals for the first time in their history. Juve scored in the 2nd minute with a David Trezeguet goal to take a 4-1 aggregate lead but Fulham then scored the next 4 goals to take the win. The goals came from Bobby Zamora, Zoltan Gera (2) and a fantastic winner from Clint Dempsey with 8 minutes remaining. Injury-hit Juventus went down to 10 men in the 1st half when Fabio Cannavaro was sent off for a professional foul and they finished the game with 9 men when Zebina was sent off in injury time at the end of the game (10, 2 Discs, ESPN UK - Champion/Burley, PAL)
Quarter Final, 1st Leg - Wolfsburg (1) @ (2) Fulham - Fulham continued their Cinderella run in the Cup with a big win over the German Champions. 2nd half goals from Bobby Zamora and Damien Duff gave Fulham the edge before a late goal from Alexander Madlung gave Wolfsburg an "Away" goal for the 2nd leg (10, 2 Discs, ESPN UK - Champion/Burley, PAL)
Quarter Final, 1st Leg - Atletico Madrid (2) @ (2) Valencia - The "All Spanish" Quarter Final lived up to expectations as Valenica twice came from behind to keep the tie in the balance. After a scoreless 1st half, both teams kept creating chances in the 2nd half with the Madrid goals coming from Diego Forlan and Antonio Lopez and the Valencia goals coming from Manuel Fernandez and David Villa, with Villa's goal coming 8 minutes from time (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Drury/Beglin, PAL)
Quarter Final, 2nd Leg - Fulham (1) @ (0) Wolfsburg - Fulham used a strong defensive display to reach their 1st ever European Semi-Final. Striker Bobby Zamora gave Fulham the away goal with a great finish after 21 seconds and then the team defended the lead for the remainder of the match. The highly-touted Wolfsburg strike-force of Edin Dzeko and Grafite were kept at bay and the Wolfsburg team as a whole were limited to only 38% possession (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Drury/Beglin, PAL)
Semi-Final, 1st Leg - Fulham (0) @ (0) Hamburg - Fulham eeked out a goal-less draw to keep alive their hopes of a first European Final. Keeper Mark Schwarzer made a string of big saves to deny Hamburg. Fulham striker Bobby Zamora, battling an achilles injury, only lasted until just after the break. Due to the Icelandic volcanic eruption closing European air-space, Fulham drove 600 miles to the game (10, 2 Discs, ESPN UK - Champion/Burley, PAL)
Semi-Final, 2nd Leg - Hamburg (1) @ (2) Fulham - Fulham secured their 1st ever European Trophy final place with a comeback win over Hamburg. The Germans scored first through Mladen Petric but 2 goals 7 minutes apart in the 2nd half gave Fulham the edge they defended to the end. The goals came from Simon Davies and Zoltan Gera (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Drury/Beglin, PAL)
Semi-Final, 2nd Leg - Atletico Madrid (1) @ (2) Liverpool - Atletico booked their place in the Final with a dramatic extra-time win at Anfield. Liverpool forced extra-time with a 1st half goal from Alberto Aquilani and seemed to have won the tie when Yossi Benayoun gave the Reds a 2-1 lead. But Diego Forlan sensationally levelled the aggregate scores and sent Atletico through to the Final on away goals (10, 2 Discs, CH5 - Woods/Taylor, PAL)
Final - Fulham (1) v (2) Atletico Madrid - Fulham's cinderella run in the Cup finally ended in the rain in Hamburg as Atletico Madrid used a late goal to win their 1st ever European trophy. The hero was Diego Forlan, who scored both Atletico goals, with the game-winner coming 2 minutes from the end of Extra-Time. The Fulham goal was scored by Simon Davies. Fulham also featured Bobby Zamora, despite an Achilles injury, Clint Dempsey and Danny Murphy (10, Partial Pre-Game, 2 Discs, CH5 - Woods/Taylor, PAL)