Man City, Villa seal UEFA Cup berths
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Manchester City avoided tragic embarrassment against Denmark's Midtjylland this morning after a last-gasp penalty shoot-out gave the English side a UEFA Cup lifeline.
It took until the 89th minute for this second qualifying round, second leg to burst into life when doughty defender Danny Califf unwittingly headed the ball past his own keeper to hand City the aggregate level at 1-1.
That was enough to see the English Premier side into extra-time and a penalty shoot-out in which keeper Joe Hart pulled off heroics to put City into the UEFA Cup first round.
Meanwhile in Birmingham, Aston Villa eased to a 1-1 draw against Icelandic side FH Hafnarfjordur to secure a breezy 5-2 aggregate victory and ensure safe passage into the UEFA Cup.
Martin O'Neill took the opportunity to rest several key players ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash with Liverpool at Villa Park, with Craig Gardner on target for the Villans.
In Denmark, Manchester pressed early as Martin Petrov's left-sided cross in the second minute was cleared by the Midtjylland defence.
But City's new Brazilian Jo was finding it difficult to make an impression on the damp surface and Blumer Elano, who scored two goals against West Ham at the weekend, looked ineffective.
The only good thing for the travelling City fans was off the field, with news that Shaun Wright-Phillips had signed from Chelsea, and Mark Hughes will know how much he needs the firepower after this performance.
Extra-time saw City push with extra initiative and Michael Johnson raced through on the home goal only to hit a feeble effort at the keeper.
Stephen Ireland was next up on 97 minutes to send a close-range header wide of Lasse Heinze's post to make it two wasted chances in two minutes.
A swerving effort from City's Daniel Sturridge stunned the bar in the 104th minute as the game moved to a penalty shoot-out.
Enter the heroic Hart, who saved two penalties and countless many blushes as City hobbled, rather than strode, into Saturday's first round draw.
-AFP
