Sat, Feb 16, 2008 page19

• UEFA CUP: Spurs win 2-1 despite Cerny's howler

  CZECHS MATE Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Radek Cerny, a former Slavia Prague player, gifted the Czechs a simple goal in the 69th minute when he dropped a cross

  • AFP
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  English Premier League sides Tottenham and Bolton took tentative steps closer to the UEFA Cup last 16 on Thursday, while Aberdeen maintained Scottish pride with a 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich.

  Tottenham Hotspur overcame an awful howler by goalkeeper Radek Cerny to beat Slavia Prague 2-1.

  Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane had given Spurs a 2-0 cushion at halftime in Prague to keep alive coach Juande Ramos' dreams of winning a third successive UEFA Cup to add to his two with Sevilla in 2006 and last year.

  

  Slavia Prague's Marek Suchy, right, vies for the ball with Tottenham Hotspur's Steed Malbranque during their UEFA Cup match at the Evzen Rosicky Stadium in Prague on Thursday.

  PHOTO: AFP

  But Cerny, a former Slavia player, gifted the Czechs a goal in the 69th minute when he dropped a cross.

  "I think we controlled the match in the first hour, but then we became quite nervous. We should have achieved a better result," said Ramos, who refused to blame Cerny for his mistake. "Mistakes are made on the field. Today it was the turn of Cerny, but we should not dwell on it."

  The English side, winners of the competition in 1972 and 1984, were in front after just four minutes when Berbatov scored with a smart half-volley from the edge of the penalty area which beat Martin Vaniak in the Slavia goal.

  

  Kevin Davies of Bolton Wanderers, left, vies for the ball with Atletico Madrid's Pablo Ibanez, center, and Christian Abbiati during their UEFA Cup match at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton, England, on Thursday.

  PHOTO: AP

  Spurs were deservedly two goals ahead on the half-hour mark when Keane latched on to a fine Jermaine Jenas pass before slotting the ball past Vaniak.

  Slavia pulled a goal back when David Hubacek's hopeful left wing cross was dropped by Cerny on his goalline in the 69th minute and David Strihavka stabbed the ball home over the line from underneath the crossbar.

  At the Reebok Stadium, El Hadji Diouf's goal 16 minutes from time gave Bolton Wanderers a 1-0 lead to take to Spain next week as they beat 10-man Atletico Madrid.

  The game turned in the 74th minute when Atletico substitute Sergio Aguero was sent off for spitting on Matt Taylor.

  Moments later, Senegal striker Diouf scored from 6m following good build-up play by Stelios Giannakopoulos and Taylor.

  "We stressed the importance of keeping a clean sheet," Bolton boss Gary Megson said. "We've kept four clean sheets out of our last five games. We're doing OK, not just as a back four but as a team. We would have liked to have scored more goals, but we couldn't have tried harder."

  Bayern Munich twice came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw at Aberdeen.

  In front of a lively crowd of 20,047, the Dons had been hoping to emulate their 1983 predecessors, who defeated Bayern 3-2 on their way to winning the Cup Winners Cup.

  At halftime, a home victory looked a possibility with Aberdeen leading 2-1 thanks to goals from on-loan teenagers Josh Walker and Sone Aluko, with German World Cup striker Miroslav Klose scoring in between for Munich.

  However, Bayern were awarded a soft second half penalty and although Hamit Altintop's effort was blocked by goalkeeper Jamie Langfield, the Turkish international smashed the rebound home.

  Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood believed a draw was a fair result.

  "It was a wonderful first half performance and it says a lot that we're disappointed we've not beaten one of the richest clubs in the world," Calderwood said.

  SV Hamburg had better luck than their Bundesliga rivals Bayern when they cruised to a 3-1 victory at FC Zurich while former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu scored after 16 minutes to give Fiorentina a 1-0 win at Rosenborg in Norway.

  In Thursday night's other tie, Portugal's Benfica edged Nuremberg 1-0.
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