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Published: Thursday March 19, 2009 MYT 9:04:00 AM
Updated: Thursday March 19, 2009 MYT 9:07:03 AM

Ajax eliminated from UEFA Cup

AMSTERDAM: Tyrone Mears scored in extra time to lead Marseille into the UEFA Cup quarterfinals with a 2-2 draw at Ajax, eliminating the four-time European Cup champions from the continent's second-tier competition 4-3 on aggregate on Wednesday.

Ajax forced extra time at Amsterdam Arena when Miralem Sulejmani made it 2-1 in the 74th minute, putting the teams level on aggregate after a 2-1 win for Marseille in the first leg.

Werder Bremen also advanced with a 2-2 draw, beating Saint-Etienne 3-2 on aggregate.

Eyong Enoh gave Ajax the lead in the 33rd minute, converting a through ball from Luis Suarez, but Mamadou Niang answered for Marseille two minutes later, scoring off a counterattack.

Suarez then rounded defender Hilton before playing in Sulejmani for Ajax's second, but Mears decided the two-leg series in extra time.

"We had a really difficult game," said Marseille's Dutch winger Boudewijn Zenden.

"They kept coming but we responded with goals. That made the difference."

Ajax finished the match with 10 men after Bruno Silva was red-carded in the last minute of extra time for a foul on substitute Hatem Ben Arfa.

Ajax won three European Cup titles from 1971-73, and added a fourth with the Champions League title in 1995.

The team from Amsterdam also won the UEFA Cup in 1992.

"We played a very good game," Ajax coach Marco van Basten said.

"We fully controlled the game and if you play like that in Europe, then you have to be positive. It's annoying that we lost."

Sebastian Prodl scored for Bremen with a powerful header from a corner by Torsten Frings in the sixth minute.

Peru striker Claudio Pizarro then extended the lead with his fifth European goal of the season, heading a left-wing cross from Mesut Ozil past goalkeeper Jeremie Janot in the 27th.

After a bad clearance from Bremen's defense, Yohan Benalouane reduced the gap in the 64th with a diving header from close range.

Sebastien Grax salvaged a draw for Saint-Etienne with a low, angled shot in injury time, but it wasn't enough for the home team.

"We can be proud of our campaign," Janot said.

"We lost only once in 10 (European) games. People were waiting for that."

Saint-Etienne, which reached the 1976 European Cup, was playing in the UEFA Cup this season for the first time in 26 years.

There are six more round of 16 matches scheduled for Thursday. with Paris Saint-Germain aiming to overcome its 3-1 weekend loss to Marseille when it plays at Braga.

The teams are even 0-0 following the first match.

Ukrainian rivals Dynamo Kiev and Metalist Kharkiv are level at 1-1, while Hamburg is also at 1-1 ahead of its visit to 2000 UEFA Cup winner Galatasaray.

Defending champion Zenit St. Petersburg needs to overturn a 2-0 deficit against visiting Udinese, which, as the last Italian club still playing in Europe, could help maintain its country's standing in the UEFA rankings and keep Serie A's fourth Champions League berth.

CSKA Moscow, the 2005 champion, is at Shakhtar Donetsk with a 1-0 lead, and Manchester City takes a 2-0 lead to Aalborg.

The draw for the quarterfinals and semifinals is scheduled for Friday in Nyon, Switzerland.


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