Bhoys cruise to victory

CELTIC edged a step closer to securing a place in the Champions League group stages with a professional 4-0 win over Kaunas in the second qualifying round.

The Lithuanians were not expected to cause too many problems for The Bhoys, and Celtic struck early when Swedish assassin Henrik Larsson hit the target on 13 minutes.

Larsson`s strike partner Chris Sutton netted the second shortly before the half-hour mark, with talented midfielder Shaun Maloney scoring the crucial third minutes into the second-half. Liam Miller did his Celtic cause no harm with a late fourth.

Who will face Newcastle in the third qualifying round is still unclear after Swedish outfit Djurgardens held Partizan Belgrade to a 1-1 draw.

Ilic gave Partizan the advantage shortly after the hour, but Rene Makundele snatched a draw for the Swedes with a goal 15 minutes from time.

Chelsea could well be facing Zilina after they grabbed a 1-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Bohemians` hopes of progressing appeared to fade on Wednesday evening as they suffered a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Rosenborg - with Azar Karadas netting the vital goal on 35 minutes.

Grazer AK would appear to be just 90 minutes from a meeting with Dutch titans Ajax after an impressive 5-1 win at Tirana in the first leg of their Champions League third qualifying round tie.

The trip to Albania appeared to be a daunting one on paper, and the Austrians were on the back foot early in the game when Xhafa fired Tirana in front.

However, Grazer responded and were level on 15 minutes when Mario Bazina netted.

Goals by Rene Aufhauser and Andrej Naumov had Grazer in control before the interval and they hammered home their superiority when Joachim Standfest netted on 55 minutes, and Gregor Potscher put a gloss on the scoreline with a late fifth.

Copenhagen impressively dispatched Sliema Wanderers 4-1, MTK Budapest beat HJK Helsinki 3-1, while Rapid Bucharest and Anderlecht played out a 0-0 draw

Russian outfit CSKA Moscow suffered a shock 2-1 home reverse at the hands of Vardar Skopje, with FK Leotar suffering a similar fate against Slavia Prague.

CSKA Sofia will be confident of securing a third round clash against Galatasaray after winning 2-0 at Pyunik Yerevan, while Maribor and Dinamo Zagreb played out a 1-1 draw.

Wisla Krakow did exactly what was required with a 5-2 win over Omonia Nicosia, while Sheriff Tiraspol and Shakhtar Donetsk played out a 0-0 draw.