Manchester City through to UEFA Europa League second qualifying round

Posted on Friday, August 1st, 2008 at 4:41 pm and is filed under News.

Manchester City remained on track to qualify for the 2008 UEFA Europa League after defeating FC Streymur 2-0 in their second match against the Faroe Island minnows.

Streymur put in an excellent defensive effort in the first half to prevent City from scoring, however the strength of Manchester City told in the second half as Martin Petrov scored, followed by Darius Vassell.

“They defended extremely well. It was damage limitation from them really, but you have to give them praise for their efforts,” Manchester City manager mark Hughes said after the game. “Their goalkeeper had a wonderful night, they threw bodies in the way of everything and made life very difficult for us.”

Manchester City will now play Denmark’s FC Midtjylland in the second qualifying round, and are expected to proceed through to the competition proper with little difficulty.

Manchester City will be joined in the second round by Intertoto Cup winners Aston Villa, who will need to defeat Iceland’s Hafnarfjordur to qualify for the 2008 UEFA Europa League. Dublin side St. Patricks also moved through to the second qualifying round after a 2-0 victory handed them a 3-0 aggregate win over Olimps.