Intertoto Second Round, First Leg Report

By: Ian Rose | July 8th, 2007

This weekend, the stakes in Europe rose one more level as the second round of the Intertoto Cup got underway, with the 14 winners from the first round taking on a host of higher-seeded talent. Here are the main stories from this weekend’s Intertoto action:

Irish teams struggle:
Cork City (Ireland) hosted the first leg of their tie with Hammarby (Sweden) and managed only a 1-1 draw. Their failure to win the home leg and allow a crucial away goal may spell trouble for their advancement. Meanwhile, Cliftonville (Northern Ireland) lost their opening away leg at AA Gent of Belgium, 2-0, making next weekend’s return leg at Windsor Park a tough match for the Ulster side.

Maccabi upset in the works:
Gloria Bistriţa, Romania’s second team in the Cup, entered via Scotland’s unused slot, but they are making themselves known as a serious UEFA Cup qualifying threat. Starting on an away leg against heavily favored Maccabi Haifa, they managed a 2-0 win, and head home with a huge advantage. If they move on, they will have a lot of confidence from beating this very Europe-tested team, and they could be the minnow to watch.

Is the dream over in Macedonia?:
FK Makedonija Ğorče Petrov, Macedonia’s only side in the tournament, had a great first round, beating one of last year’s UEFA Cup qualifiers, Ethinokos of Cyprus. But they have hit a brick wall by the name of Cherno More Varna of Bulgaria, losing their opening home leg 4-0. Only a miracle will save them from the early exit now, and the Bulgarians look likely to move on to a very tough tie against Sampdoria.

Beware the Black Sea Storm:
Cherno weren’t the biggest winners of the weekend. That honor goes to the “Black Sea Storm” of Turkey’s Trabzonspor, who beat Albanian side Vllaznia by a whopping 6-0. The Storm has a storied history in Europe, with wins over legendary sides like Liverpool and Lyon. They also face the softest third-round draw, as they’ll play the winner of the Galati-Sarajevo match. They look to be the most likely of the second-round sides to qualify, and Vllaznia looks as good as dead.

More on the weekend’s action in the next few days, when my wonderful and anonymous YouTube friends post their match videos from Eastern Europe.