UEFA Cup, preliminary round, first leg (15/8) ====================================== Stabæk - Linfield (Northern Ireland) 4-0 (2-0) Nadderud stadion Att: 1145 1-0 Thomas Finstad (12) 2-0 Tryggvi Gudmundsson (18) 3-0 Marel Baldvinsson (75) 4-0 Gudmundsson (90) Referee: Julian Santiago Rodriguez, Spain. Yellow card: Mike Kjølø, Stabæk, Glenn Ferguson, Mark Picking, Linfield. - As expected an easy win for plucky Stabæk against the Northern Irish. The Icelandic duo of Gudmunsson and Baldvinsson scored three of the goals. The return leg should be a formality. Brann - Suduva (Lithuania) 2-3 (1-3) Brann stadion Att: 1761 0-1 Vidas Zitinskas (8) 0-2 Tomas Radzinevicius (18) 0-3 Zitinskas (20) 1-3 Martin Knudsen (45) 2-3 Petter Furuseth Olsen (58) Referee: David Malcom, Norther Ireland. Yellow card: Petter Furuseth Olsen, Brann, Andrius Larcenka, Tomas Radzinevicius, Dainius Kunevicius, Suduva. - A shock home defeat for out-of-form Brann against the minnows from Lithuania. At one stage the visitors led 3-0, and the Norwegians were on the verge of complete humiliation. Two goals make the return leg interesting, at least. UEFA Cup, preliminary round, second leg (29/8) ======================================= Suduva (Lithuania) - Brann 3-2 (3-2), agg. 6-4 Kaunas Att: ? 1-0 Tomas Radzinevicius (2) 1-1 Nkosinathi Nhleko (16) 2-1 Radzinevicius (29) 3-1 Radzinevicius (40) 3-2 Nhleko (45) Referee: Drago Kos, Slovenia. Yellow card: Martin Knudsen, Brann. - Brann are embarassingly knocked out of the UEFA Cup after failing to beat Suduva in the return leg too. Nothing more than they deserve as their awful domestic form is transferred to Europe as well. Suduva should not have been impossible to overcome. Linfield (Northern Ireland) - Stabæk 1-1 (1-0), agg. 1-5 Windsor Park Att: ? 1-0 Glenn Ferguson (44) 1-1 Tryggvi Gudmundsson (82) Referee: Antonio Costa, Portugal. Red card: André Flem (63), Martin Andresen (80), Stabæk, Glenn Ferguson (80), Linfield. Yellow card: Stephen Collier, Linfield, Thomas Finstad, Stabæk. - Stabæk are safely through to the first round after knocking out Linfield. But the win was marred by two sending offs, and subsequent suspensions in the first round. Once more Gudmunsson was on target to score the important away goal, which ensured a safe 5-1 aggregate win.