By DPA
Hamburg : Everton and SV Hamburg were among the clubs that booked their places in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup after Wednesday night’s round of group matches.
A late goal from Tim Cahill secured a 1-0 win for Everton at home to Zenit St Petersburg while Nigel de Jong and Piotr Trochowski were the late heroes for Hamburg against Dinamo Zagreb.
Zenit were up against it in the Group A encounter after being reduced to 10 men after half an hour when Nicolas Lombaerts saw a straight red after he was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area but Mikel Arteta blasted the resultant penalty over the bar.
Arteta nearly made amends minutes later but his superb longe-range shot was well saved while Lee Carsley saw his shot come back off the bottom of the post.
Konstantin Zyrianov missed a golden chance to put Zenit ahead early in the second half but blasted his effort over the bar with only Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard to beat.
Everton’s one-man advantage finally told on 85 minutes when Cahill fired home the loose ball after Zenit goalkeeper Mikhail Malafeev could only parry Joleon Lescott’s powerful shot.
In the other match in Group A, Nuremberg kept their hopes of progressing to the next phase very much alive after two late goals from Marek Mintal secured a 2-1 win at home to AZ Alkmaar.
Nuremberg, German Cup holders, fell behind to a goal from Demy de Zeeuw after 29 minutes but Mintal equalized on 83 minutes and two minutes later netted the winner with a finely struck shot from 12 metres.
Panathinaikos maintained their 100-per-cent record in Group B and with it a place in the last 32 thanks to a 2-0 win over Lokomotiv Moscow, with Dimitrios Salpigidis netting both goals on 70 and 74 minutes.
The win moves the Greek side on to nine points, two clear of now also qualified Atletico Madrid, 2-0 victors over FC Copenhagen.
Simao put the visitors in front after 21 minutes and Sergio Aguero made it 2-0 just after the hour mark to seal the win for Atletico.
Villarreal ensured qualification from Group C with a comfortable 2-0 win at home to IF Elfsborg. Jon Dahl Tomasson got Villarreal off to the perfect start, turning in a cross from Nihat Kahveci after just two minutes.
Tomasson got his second of the match six minutes after the restart, running on to a Matias Fernandez pass before beating Johan Wiland with a low shot from 10 metres.
The win sees Villarreal go top on seven points, two clear of AEK Athens, who overcame Mlada Boleslav 1-0 in the other group game thanks to a goal from Tamandani Nsaliwa. Fiorentina, who didn’t play, also have five points.
A late goal from de Jong and a last-minute penalty from Trochowski ensured Hamburg qualify for the next phase and stay top of Group D with a maximum nine points from three games.
Basle also booked their place in the knockout phase with a 1-0 defeat of Brann Bergen thanks to a Carlitos effort five minutes before the break.