TheSportsCampus

Thursday night dished out another entertaining set of Europa League games that decided the fates of many clubs trying to make a late attempt to squeeze past the competition into the next round. It would be fair to say though that the British contingent did not have the best of times, as Tottenham, Birmingham, Celtic and Shamrock Rovers all crashed out of the competition. The likes of Udinese and Hannover, however, claimed favourable results that helped them go through, while big names PSV Eindhoven and Atletico Madrid earned victories as well.

Group A:

Shamrock Rovers 0 - 4 Tottenham Hotspur

For Spurs, the equation to qualify was quite daunting. They had to beat Shamrock Rovers by five goals, and hope that PAOK beat Rubin Kazan to be able to snatch second place from Rubin. However, the only hope was that they were playing Group A whipping boys Shamrock Rovers, and though they came mighty close to getting the big win they needed, they fell short by a bit in the end. Harry Redknapp brought with him only 15 players, choosing to keep his regulars in England for the game. However, his fringe side got off to a good start, when Steven Pienaar made a scoring return from injury just before the hour mark. That lead was doubled by a brilliant Andros Townsend strike and Jermain Defoe's finish on the stroke of halftime had put the Spurs home and dry. Youngster Harry Kane added a fourth towards the end of the game, but it wasn't enough for Tottenham, whose losses earlier in the campaign came back to haunt them in the end.

PAOK 1 - 1 Rubin Kazan

However, even if the Spurs had got that five-goal win it wouldn't have mattered as Rubin Kazan claimed a valuable away point against group leaders PAOK to confirm their entry into the knockout stages. The Russian side must have had their hearts in their mouth at halftime when they were trailing 1-0 thanks to a Vierinha penalty after their keeper Sergei Ryzhikov was sent off for a professional foul, and the Spurs were banging in the goals. However, Nelson Valdez claimed a crucial goal three minutes into the second half to put his side level, a goal that eventually saw them through ahead of their English competition.

Group B:

FC Copenhagen 0 - 1 Standard Liege

In a group that was all but decided before the kickoff , leaders Standard Liege claimed a workmanlike win over a rather toothless Copenhagen side at the Parken Stadion. Michy Batshuayi gave his side the lead a minute after the half hour mark, a lead that they held onto for the rest of the game to end the group stages unbeaten in their six games.

Hannover 96 3 - 1 Vorskla Poltava

Hannover too celebrated their entry into the knockout stages with a comfortable 3-1 win over bottom-placed Group B club Vorskla. Konstantin Rausch and Didier Konan gave the second-string Hannover side a comfortable early two-goal lead, before Roman Bezues reduced the deficit with a penalty just as half time approached. Artur Sobiech found the net in the second half, and even though Rausch missed a chance to grab a brace from the penalty spot, it mattered little as the German side eased into the next stage.

Group C:

PSV 2 - 1 Rapid Bucharest

Dutch giants PSV, who were a massive ten points ahead of their opposition in Group C, and comfortably on top of the pile before kickoff, scored an easy 2-1 win over strugglers Rapid Bucharest in their last group stage encounter. It took time for the goals to arrive in this encounter, but two strikes in five minutes from Stanislav Manolev and Tim Matavz put the hosts in control with only a quarter of an hour left in the game. Bucharest grabbed a goal in the 90th minute, but it was all too little too late for the side, who exited the competition with only one win under their belts.

Hapoel Tel Aviv 2 - 0 Legia Warszawa

Having already qualified and with no chance of catching up with group leaders PSV, Legia Warszawa took their foot off the pedal against Hapoel Tel Aviv, losing 2-0 to the Israeli side courtesy of goals on either side of halftime from Salim Toama and Avichai Yadin, the result offering nothing except a confidence boost for Hapoel Tel Aviv.

Group D:

AZ Alkmaar 1 - 1 Metalist Kharkiv

It was goal difference that took AZ Alkmaar through to the next round of the Europa League after the Dutch side were held to a 1-1 draw at the AZ Stadion by surprise group leaders Metalist Kharkiv. The visitors scored in the first half through Marko Devic, and with Metalist keeper Oleksandr Goryainov in scintillating form, AZ Alkmaar ran the risk of crashing out of the competition. However, 18-year old Adam Maher equalsed within a minute of the opener to ease the tensions around the stadium, with the hosts comfortably holding onto the draw that was necessary for them to stay second in the group.

Austria Wien 2 - 0 Malmo FF

The hosts needed to win on Thursday and hope that Metalist beat AZ Alkmaar in order to qualify, and though they did everything in their power to make the round of 32, easing to a 2-0 win at the Austria Arena, things elsewhere did not go favourably for them, resulting in the Austrian outfit getting ousted from the competition. Michael Liendl and Nacer Barazite scored the goals in the last half hour after an improved second-half performance from the hosts. which meant that Malmo exited the competition with only a solitary draw to show for their efforts.

Group H:

Birmingham City 1 - 0 NK Maribor

Despite earning a dogged 1-0 win at St. Andrew's against strugglers Maribor, other results did not swing the English side's way, leading to their exit from the Europa League. Birmingham needed Braga to beat Club Brugge to have a chance of making the next round, but the Portuguese side only managed a draw, meaning that the win which came through Adam Rooney's goal on 25 minutes lost much significance. The goal in itself was brilliantly created by 17-year old Nathan Redmond, who showed some nifty footwork to beat his man before aiming an inch-perfect cross to Rooney, who made no mistake with his header from close range.

Club Brugge 1 - 1 Sporting Braga

The visitors had Elderson sent off in the 16th minute for felling Vadis Odjidja when the Brugge player had a free run on goal, but still managed to claim a credible 1-1 draw against Brugge, who thanks to the point finished on top of Group H. Bjorn Vleminckx broke the deadlock in the 50th minute with a low drive from inside the box before Ewerton equalised for the hosts, guiding Hugo Vianna's strike deftly past the hosts' keeper to claim a share of the spoils.

Group I:

Atletico Madrid 3 - 1 Stade Rennais FC

In arguably the toughest group of the lot, Atletico sealed their progress as group leaders with a condifent 3-1 win against French side Stade Rennais courtesy goals from Radamel Falcao, Alvaro Dominguez and Arda Turan. The Los Rojiblancos needed to avoid defeat in order to be one of the seeded teams going into the next draw, and were on their way in the 38th minute, when ace striker Falcao coolly finished a penalty to give the hosts a lead. That lead was doubled only four minutes later, when Dominguez's header went in thanks to a goalkeeping gaffe from Abdoulaye Diallo. Arda Turan scored the third after the restart to add gloss to the win, and though Geosges Mandjeck scored a consolation late in the tie, it didn't take anything away from a strong performance by the La Liga side.

Udinese 1 - 1 Celtic FC

Joinig Atletico were Italian outfit Udinese, who qualified by the skin of their teeth at the expense of Celtic, who they faced on Thursday at Udine. Celtic, who needed an away win to advance, scored just before the half hour mark through Gary Hooper, who had to simply tap into an empty net after Udinese keeper Samir Handanovic punched into his teammate Joel Ekstrand. However, the hosts relied on their star striker Antonio de Natale to bring them level, the Italian smashing home a volley from inside the box to even the scores. The second half saw a slew of chances fall Udinese's way, who despite being unable to claim a win went through to the round of 32.