EUFA Cup : Spurs's boss Juande Ramos on fire

Udinese 2 - 0 Tottenham

Tottenham boss Juande Ramos was left clinging desperately to his job on Thursday after watching his struggling side crash to a 2-0 UEFA Cup defeat at Udinese. Spurs, rock-bottom of the English Premier League without a win this season, also finished this opening Group D clash with ten men after Jamie O'Hara was red-carded just before the hour mark.

Udinese, second in Serie A behind defending champions Inter Milan, were ahead after 24 minutes when Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes brought down Fabio Quagliarella inside the area. Antonio Di Natale coolly scored from the penalty spot.

O'Hara's dismissal, for successive fouls on Alexis Sanchez, only added to Spurs' problems and they were under the cosh for the remainder of the tie. Udinese substitute Simone Pepe, who had replaced Sanchez in the 79th minute, added the second goal four minutes from the end when he slotted a pass from Quagliarella beyond Gomes.

Tottenham's best chance fell to Darren Bent who had a header well saved by goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.But the Londoners' fruitless trip to Italy was best summed up by the pre-match ommission of midfielder David Bentley who was dropped for his criticism of the club.

fifa.com

Braga 3 - 0 Portsmouth

Harry Redknapp pointed the finger at Sporting Braga's 'divers' after the Portuguese side claimed a 3-0 UEFA Cup win over Portsmouth. Pompey had four players booked and Redknapp admitted he was frustrated by the night's proceedings - especially with the antics of the opposition and the officials.

Slovenian referee Darko Ceferin booked Pompey's Papa Bouba Diop, Noe Pamarot, Jermain Defoe - for shooting into the net when given offside - and Peter Crouch. He also booked Braga goalscorer Wason Renteria for trying to persuade the official to caution Pompey substitute Nadir Belhadj for a foul.

Uruguayan Luis Aguiar fired a fabulous 30-yard free-kick past David James in the eighth minute and Colombian Renteria added a second just after half-time.Portsmouth conceded a third three minutes from time when Sean Davis steered a right-wing cross against his own post and Brazilian Alan pounced to score from the rebound.

Full Results

UEFA Cup - Group B

Schalke 3 - 1 Paris S.G.
FC Twente Enschede 1 - 0 Racing Santander

UEFA Cup - Group B
Galatasaray 1 - 0 Olympiakos Piraeus
Hertha BSC 1 - 1 Benfica

UEFA Cup - Group C
Sevilla 2 - 0 Stuttgart
Partizan Belgrade 1 - 2 Sampdoria

UEFA Cup - Group D
Udinese 2 - 0 Tottenham H.
Dinamo Zagreb 3 - 2 NEC Nijmegen

UEFA Cup - Group E
SC Heerenveen 1 - 3 AC Milan
Braga 3 - 0 Portsmouth

UEFA Cup - Group F
Zilina 1 - 2 Hamburger SV
Aston Villa 2 - 1 Ajax Amsterdam

UEFA Cup - Group G
FC Copenhagen 1 - 3 Saint-Etienne
Rosenborg 0 - 0 Club Brugge

UEFA Cup - Group H
CSKA Moscow 3 - 0 Deportivo La Coruna
Nancy 3 - 0 Feyenoord Rotterdam