English clubs impress in first round of UEFA Europa League

The English clubs participating in the first round of the 2008 UEFA Europa League enjoyed a good night at the office yesterday, as four of the five clubs involved in the first round action came away with wins, while Everton was held to a draw at Goodison Park.

Aston Villa will be more than happy with their performance on Thursday night as they emerged 3-1 winners from their match against Litex Lovech. Gareth Barry scored for his team in a match that saw Litex implode in front of a home crowd witha series of serious errors.

Portsmouth also managed to win by a two goal margin in their match against Guiamaraes, holding their opponents scoreless as Dianna and Dafoe scored for their club. With a two goal advantage going into the away leg of their first round tie, Portsmouth are favourites to reach the second round of the 2008 UEFA Europa League.

Big spending Manchester City didn’t look quite the part of new giants of English football as they struggled to put away lowly Omonia Nicosia 2-1. City needed two goals from star Brazilian signing Jo to come back into the match after trailing Omonia by one goal for most of the match.

Tottenham Hostpur, meanwhile, would have been delighted with their first win of the season as they defeated Wisla Krakow 2-1 at White Hart Lane. The same cannot be said for Everton who were restricted to a 2-2 draw at home by an impressive Standard Liege.