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English sides suffer mixed UEFA Cup fortunes
PRAGUE, Sep 14 (SW) - Two English sides were victorious in narrow results away from home, but the first leg of the UEFA Cup first round was not as kind to West Ham, who fell at home.
<b>Slavia Prague - Tottenham Hotspur</b> 0-1
Tottenham Hotspur thoroughly controlled their match in Prague, although they barely squeaked through with a narrow victory heading back to White Hart Lane in two weeks.
After Slavia lost their starting goalkeeper to injury in the first half, Jermaine Jenas fired Spurs into the lead on 37 minute with a well-placed shot that reserve goalkeeper Matus Kozacik would have been hard-pressed to stop.
Spurs had several opportunities in the second half to extend their advantage, but Kozacik helped Slavia keep the tie from getting out of hand before the second leg in London.
<b>West Ham United - Palermo</b> 0-1
A very impressive Palermo side knocked off West Ham at Upton Park on Thursday, leaving the Hammers with an uphill climb in the return match.
Right after Carlos Tevez missed a chance to give West Ham the lead, Andrea Caracciolo put Palermo in front on the stroke of half-time after a brilliant cross from Aimo Diana.
Marlon Harewood, who has been out of form in the Premiership, nearly grabbed an equalizer in the second half, but his shot crashed off of the post.
<b>Levadia - Newcastle United</b> 0-1
Newcastle hold the advantage over their Estonian challengers heading into the second leg after an early goal by new signing Antoine Sibierski.
The Frenchman's deflected header from a Damien Duff free kick on 10 minutes was all the Magpies needed to secure the win, although manager Glenn Roeder will likely seek a better performance in a fortnight's time.
<b>Salzburg - Blackburn Rovers</b> 2-2
Another English side, Blackburn Rovers, got off to a rough start in Austria as Alexander Zickler put Salzburg in front on the half-hour mark, much to the delight of the home side.
But Mark Hughes' men quickly responded with an equalizer two minutes later from Robbie Savage, and the go-ahead goal in the 39th minute from South African forward Benni McCarthy.
Salzburg managed to pull out an equalizer through Marc Janko in injury time, but Rovers still hold the slight advantage on away goals.
For a recap of West Ham-Palermo, click <a href="http://www.soccerway.com/news/2006/September/14/english-sides-suffer-mixed-uefa-cup-fortunes/">here</a>.
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