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UEFA Cup
1st Round - Leg 2
VfB Stuttgart vs Valerenga IF (Agg: 2-2)
Gottlieb-Daimler stadion
Thursday 29th September 2005
The Match:
Following a 2-2 draw in the first leg at Oslo, the match is very much there for the taking for both teams. Stuttgart do have the slight advantage of two away goals, but a win for the Norwegian side will knock Claudio Ranieri's boys out of Europe.
Lineups:
Subs:
Claudio Ranieri has not made any changes to the team that won 4-1 against Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga on Sunday. This means no place in the starting lineup for Markus Babbel despite a man of the match performance in the first leg.
Valerenga are playing the 4-4-2 standard formation, and former Chelsea man Tore Andre Flo is once again the main threat. Ranieri would have told his boys to be a bit more careful of substitute Havard Lie this time, having scored the late equaliser in the first leg.
The Result:
Goals:
Stuttgart were the second best team today, as Valerenga put in a fine performance. But in the end it was the away goal rule that took Stuttgart through.
Stuttgart took the lead in the ninth minute through Jon Dahl Tomasson's strike. Tore Andre Flo equalised for Valerenga in the 82nd minute, to set up a thrilling final few minutes of the game. And it was a dirty encounter as well with four yellow cards and one player been sent off. Things heated up when Jonas Jacobsen and Fernando Meira had a verbal spat that lead to a small fight between both teams. Two players were yellow carded for this incident itself.
No one did particularly well for Stuttgart, although Tomasson's strike in the first half was a piece of brilliance. Cacau and Fernando Meira had below par performances. Apart from the goal, Stuttgart had a total of 10 shots on target, although only 4 of them actually troubled the keeper. Mario Carevic had a very good chance to score but Arni Arason did really well to put the ball away for a corner. Jesper Gronkjaer, Marco Streller and Jon Dahl Tomasson all had fairly decent chances as well. Hitzlsperger was shown the red card in the 59th minute for using foul language against the referee when he was awarded an initial yellow for a foul on Geir Andersen. On the other side Timo Hildebrand dint have his best game, although he did come up with the saves when it mattered.
Goalkeeper Arni Arason and defender Geir Andersen were the best performers for the visitors. Stuttgart did organise several counter-attacks after taking the lead early, but Arason came out on top on every occassion. Tore Andre Flo's goal in the 82nd minute, set up a thrilling end to the game, and a rather uneasy time for Claudio Ranieri and his team. And it became even worse when Fernando Meira was injured in the 89th minute, and Stuttgart having made use of all three substitutions had to defend with nine men.
The final whistle was a relief to the Stuttgart fans, players and manager Claudio Ranieri alike. Stuttgart had managed hold on, and were through to the next round on away goals.
Sony Playstation Man of the Match: Geir Andersen (VALERENGA IF)
Stats: