A Night of a Flying Dutchman and a Goal-Scoring Goal Keeper in the UEFA Cup

AZ Alkmaar, guided by Dutchman Louis van Gaal produced an exciting comeback to knock out Newcastle, who were leading 4-2 from the first leg. Newcastle had a dire night, continually losing possession and Obefemi Martins missing chances, that eventually sealed their now customary exit from the competition. Van Gaal’s team showed guile, strength, passion and stubbornness which gave them a well deserved 2-0 victory on the night with goals from Shota Arveladze and Danny Koevermans. An ecstatic Van Gaal said afterwards it was “the best match we could have played”.

UEFA Cup holders Sevilla Rescued by the Goalie

Over in Donetsk, Ukraine, UEFA Cup holders Sevilla were saved from exit by their new striking sensation, their goalkeeper Andrés Palop! Palop chose to use his head rather than his football boots to score the equalizer four minutes into injury time, stunning the crowd and ensuring the game went into extra time. The amazing headed equaliser came from a Alvés corner, with Palop rising to head a neat finish inside the far post to stun the already celebrating home fans whose night was then completely ruined when Fabiano set up Chevanton to get the decisive goal in the 105th minute, and send FC Shakhtar crashing out.

Full Quarter Final Line Up

In the other matches Benfica beat Paris St.-Germain 3-2 and Espanyol easily overcame Maccabi Haifa 4-0. The full line up for the UEFA Cup Quarter Finals is as follows:
AZ Alkmaar, Sevilla, Benfica, Espanyol,Tottenham Hotspur, Werder Bremen, Bayer Leverkusen and Osasuna.