SPORTS
Surprise wins for Domzale and Spartak Trnava
Baku, July 29, AZERTAC
Domzale were the shock winners in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round first leg, while Shkendija's remarkable story shows no signs of stopping, according to UEFA.
Two Matic Crnic goals gave Slovenian side Domzale a 2-1 home win against West Ham, leaving the Hammers with a deficit to overturn in next week's second leg - the first game at their new stadium. Spartak Trnava, meanwhile, won 1-0 at Austria Wien thanks to Robert Tambe's goal in the first minute of the second half.
Shkendija's most successful European campaign so far continued with a 2-0 home win against Czech side Mlada Boleslav 2-0 with close-range goals from Stenio Junior and captain Feran Hasan in Skopje. A third consecutive home victory without conceding means the Red and Blacks are close to becoming only the second Macedonian club to reach the UEFA Europa League play-off, following Rabotnicki's lead from 2011/12 and 2015/16.
One fairytale that looks to be over is Birkirkara, beaten 3-0 in Malta by Krasnodar, while Gent were the night's big winners with a 5-0 home defeat of Romania's Viitorul. French sides LOSC and St-Étienne were both held at home, by Qäbälä and AEK Athens respectively, while Vedad Ibišević's 28th-minute goal proved enough for Hertha Berlin to beat Brøndby in Berlin.
Meanwhile, the game between Heracles and Arouca, who were both making their European debuts, ended all square.
AEK Larnaca 1-1 Spartak Moskva
Olexandriya 0-3 Hajduk Split
Heracles 1-1 Arouca
LOSC Lille 1-1 Qabala
Jelgava 1-1 Beitar Jerusalem
Torpedo Zhodino 0-0 Rapid Wien
Zaglębie 1-2 SonderjyskE
Slavia Praha 0-0 Rio Ave
Austria Wien 0-1 Spartak Trnava
Lokomotiva Zagreb 0-0 Vorskla
Goteborg 1-2 HJK Helsinki
Birkirkara 0-3 Krasnodar
İstanbul Basaksehir 0-0 Rijeka
Grasshoppers 2-1 Apollon
Luzern 1-1 Sassuolo
Osmanlıspor 1-0 Kalju
Genk 1-0 Cork City
Pandurii 1-3 Macaabi Tel-Aviv
Panathinaikos 1-0 AIK Solna
Vojvodina 1-1 Dinamo Minsk
Shkëndija 2-0 Mlada Boleslav
Hertha Berlin 1-0 Brondby
Gent 5-0 Viitorul
Videoton 0-1 Midtjylland
Domzale 2-1 West Ham
AZ Alkmaar 1-0 Giannina
Aberdeen 1-1 Maribor
St-Etienne 0-0 AEK Athens
Admira 1-2 Slovan Liberec