Tottenham rallies to beat Aalborg 3-2 in UEFA Cup

Tottenham rallies to beat Aalborg 3-2 in UEFA Cup

Tottenham Hotspur's Steed Malbranque (2nd L) scores against Aalborg during their UEFA Cup Group G soccer match at White Hart Lane in London Nov. 29, 2007.


BEIJING, Nov. 30 -- Two-time champion Tottenham scored three second-half goals yesterday and rallied past visiting Aalborg 3-2 in the UEFA Cup, while Helsingborg became the first team to advance to the next stage with a 3-0 win over Austria Vienna.

Bayern Munich missed its chance to advance from the group stage when it was held to a 1-1 draw at Braga, while 2000 winner Galatasaray won 3-0 at Panionios.

Dimitar Berbatov, Steed Malbranque and Darren Bent scored for Tottenham, which last won the UEFA Cup in 1984 but is now on the verge of qualification for the next round.

Hamburg and Atletico Madrid were among other teams to win and increase their chances of a spot in the round of 32.

Juande Ramos won the UEFA Cup the past two seasons with Sevilla, but saw his new side, Tottenham, fall 2-0 behind inside 37 minutes.

Danish league co-leader Aalborg led in the second minute with a shot by Thomas Enevoldsen into the top corner and doubled the advantage when Michael Dawson failed to clear a cross from the left and Kasper Risgard scored.

Ramos inserted Bent and Tom Huddlestone at halftime and the latter set up Berbatov in the 46th to make it 2-1 with a low shot.

Berbatov and Robbie Keane set up Malbranque for a 51st-minute equalizer that went in off the crossbar, and Bent gave Spurs the lead in the 66th minute when he tapped in a cross by Aaron Lennon.

Tottenham Hotspur's Dimitart Berbatov (R) Jermaine Jenas (2nd R) and Robbie Keane react after Aalborg's Kasper Risgard scores during their UEFA Cup Group G soccer match at White Hart Lane in London Nov. 29, 2007.


Tottenham could have scored a fourth goal in the final moments, but Lennon had a swerving shot saved by the goalkeeper.

"It was a big decision for Juande and it worked," Tottenham assistant coach Gus Poyet said of the substitutions. "It is that sort of situation where you have to go for the game because you have nothing to lose."

Spurs moved atop Group G with six points, two more than second-place Anderlecht, with one match remaining

Six points guaranteed progress in last season's tournament -- Bayer Leverkusen and Fenerbahce even advanced with four -- so Spurs appear certain to move forward alongside teams including Helsingborg, which won yesterday on a goal by Olafur Skulason and two from Razak Omotoyossi.

Tottenham Hotspur's coach Juande Ramos watches his team play against Aalborg during their UEFA Cup Group G soccer match at White Hart Lane in London Nov. 29, 2007


Galatasaray has three points in Group H -- four fewer than the Swedish team -- but should advance if it wins its final match against last-place Austria Vienna on December 19.

Galatasaray, which shocked Arsenal to win the 2000 final on penalties, dominated Panionios yesterday and won with three second-half goals.

Serhan Calik scored in the 50th despite calls for offside from the Greek team, and Rigobert Song made it 2-0 in the 63rd with a penalty kick. Grigoris Makos was sent off shortly after for two yellow cards and veteran striker Hakan Sukur rounded off the scoring in the 82nd with a header.

Four-time European champion Bayern appeared victorious when the unmarked Miroslav Klose tapped in from close range in the 47th. But Braga striker Roland Linz equalized in the 67th, beating his marker to slip the ball past veteran goalkeeper Oliver Kahn.

Bayern has five points from three Group F games, one more than Aris, which led at Bolton but drew 1-1 when the Premier League team got a 90th-minute equalizer from Greek midfielder Stelios Giannakopoulos.

Hamburg beat Rennes 3-0 to top Group D with six points and was only denied a sure place in the next round by Brann's 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb.

Fiorentina still leads Group C after a 1-1 draw at AEK stopped it from advancing with a game still to play.

Pablo Osvaldo put Fiorentina ahead from a 29th with a low shot from a counterattack, but AEK, which was without injured veteran Brazilian midfielder Rivaldo, equalized five minutes later with a deflected shot by Julio Cesar.

Tottenham Hotspur's Dimitar Berbatov (C) scores past Aalborg's Karim Zaza during their UEFA Cup Group G soccer match at White Hart Lane in London Nov. 29, 2007.

Zenit St. Petersburg was held to a 2-2 draw by visiting Nuremburg, which earned its first point. Also in Group A, Moussa Dembele scored in the 72nd to lead AZ Alkmaar past 10-man Larissa.

AZ playmaker Simon Cziommer had a goal disallowed in the 29th before Dembele hit a low left-foot shot from inside the area after Demy de Zeew's shot had been cleared from the line.

"It was a very tough evening for us," AZ coach Louis van Gaal said. "I think it is clever that we managed to win. Dembele was unbelievable."

Larissa had Ilias Kotsios sent off in the 84th for a foul on Sebastien Pocognoli.
Aalborg's Michael Jakobsen reacts after Tottenham Hotspur's Steed Malbranque scored during their UEFA Cup Group G soccer match at White Hart Lane in London Nov. 29, 2007.
Aalborg's Thomas Enevoldsen (R) celebrates after scoring against Tottenham Hotspur during their UEFA Cup Group G soccer match at White Hart Lane in London Nov. 29, 2007