De Friezen draw to Twente

De Friezen came within minutes of an important win over Twente but with a last minute strike the match ended with a 1-1 score. The draw had massive implications on Trond Sollied's side as they fell out of the Europa League spot to fifth but equally have a another twist should the result cause Twente to fall out of a Champions League berth.

As a preview to next months KNVB final the match had the all the tone of a title bout with scoring opportunities limited with resolute defending. After a scoreless half Heerenveen looked like it found the winner goal as former Dinamo Zagreb-man Danijel Pranjić's corner was sent in by Paulo Henrique. However thoughts of three-points disappeared as with time winding down, Twente's Theo Janssen sent in a free-kick from twenty-five metres. What makes the result most intriguing is that the losing finalist for the domestic cup competition (the KNVB Beker in this situation) will qualify for the Europa League if the winners qualify for the Champions League but with Twente not gaining full points they have opened up a chance for Ajax.

Heading into the final two weeks Heerenveen will need help if they are to overtake PSV but first they must defeat ADO Den Haag on Sunday

Hajduk Split rolls 5-0 over Croatia Sesvete

Hajduk Split continued its nip and tuck battle for first-place with Dinamo Zagreb with a 5-0 destruction of relegation threatened Croatia Sesvete. The victory leaves Split just a point behind Zagreb for the championship and the all-important Champions League berth.

Ante Miše's side took the 1-0 lead eleven minutes in as Anthony Šerić's cross from the left was volleyed-in from close range by Bosnian international Senijad Ibričić. Ibričić doubled the margin only seven minutes later as he accepted a pass in the box before turning and firing in from twelve metres. Hrvoje Vejić, formerly of Tom Tomsk gave Split the 3-0 lead nine minutes after the restart as he got on the end of a rebound just outside the six-yard box before sending to the back of the net. Three minutes before the hour seventeen year-old Mario Tičinović showed great touch as he volleyed Mirko Oremuš cross from the right to the roof of the goal to make it 4-0.
Dario Jertec rounded out the scoring with eighteen minutes left as his free-kick over the wall from eighteen metres dipped in.

Hajduk Split returns to the quest for European football against Varteks Varaždin on May 3.

Dinamo Zagreb battle Zadar to 2-0 victory

Dinamo Zagreb maintained their one-point lead on Hajduk Split with a 2-0 victory over NK Zadar. The relegation threatened Zadar were under siege early by Krunoslav Jurčić's side early but things were getting tense for Zagreb as a number of qualities chances went without a mark. Finally three minutes from the hour veteran Igor Bišcan took matters into his own hands as a poorly cleared cross into the box bounded to him before he volleyed-in. As time wound down Ivan Tomečak's free-kick from the right was headed-in to the far left post by Mario Mandžukic to bring the match to a 2-0 final.

Dinamo Zagreb returns to pay on 3 May against Europa League candidate HNK Rijeka.

Spartak Moscow edges Dinamo Zagreb 1-0

Spartak Moscow edged Croatian powerhouse Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 at Maksimir Stadium with Russian international Ivan Saenko providing the winning strike at the seventy-fifth minute from the edge of the area. The match was extremely tight with near perfect defending and very few scoring opportunities. With the victory for Michael Laudrup's side leaps to third place of Group D, three points behind Udinese and Tottenham. Spartak returns to UEFA Cup against NEC Nijmegen on December 3.

Spartak Moscow v Dinamo Zagreb match preview

Without hesitation once the UEFA Cup draw was completed, this was one of the highlight matches that are a "must-see." After defeating N.E.C. Nijmegen 3-2, Dinamo Zagreb fell to London's Tottenham 4-0 but will look to return to glory this evening against Spartak Moscow. No match at Maksimir in Zagreb can be taken for granted and Myaso must expect a "special welcome" from the Croatian supporters. The match will be bathed in tension with Dinamo now in the controls of Marijan Vlak as the club and Branko Ivanković felt it best that he resign his post as well as Spartak's 'keeper Stipe Pletikosa formerly played with Dinamo rivals HNK Hajduk Split. Michael Laudrup's Spartak side were showing great promise and then after their great victory over CSKA Moscow, they fell apart with losses to Lokomotiv, Zenit and a draw to Luch-Energiya Vladivostok. Particularly maddening to supporters was effort against Zenit Saint Petersburg in which they looked to show little spirit or intent. For Spartak to be successful in Zagreb they will need to show the same passion and resolve as they did against CSKA or Dinamo will overwhelm them.

I will report on the match as it concludes.

Spartak Moscow's UEFA Cup efforts

Michael Laudrup's Spartak Moscow has been drawn into Group D of the UEFA Cup.

The competition now enters the Group Stage with the top three clubs surviving to the next round. Divided into eight groups of five clubs, the matches begin on the 23rd of October, continuing on November 6 and 27 and followed-up on 3/4 and 17/18 December. At that time the round of thirty-two will commence with the teams that finished first and third will be paired, with the runners-up meeting the clubs presently competing in the UEFA Champions League.

Spartak Moscow's group includes an intriguing match-up of Roman Pavlyuchenko who left Spartak for Tottenham of England's Premier League, Udinese of Serie A, NEC Nijmegen of the Eredivisie and legendary Croatia club Dinamo Zagreb who are lead by Branko Ivanković.

This will be an exciting group with Spartak Moscow and Dinamo Zagreb likely to be the best within a international style tournament.