Timisoara - VfB Stuttgart - 2009

In front of a 23.446 strong crowd at the stadium of last season's runner-up in Romania , VfB positively laid the groundwork for their qualification for the group stage of the Champions League with a 2-0 win in the first leg of their Play-Off against FC Tamisoara. The goals on the night were scored by Timo Gebhart and Aliaksandr Hleb. It was a hard fought Play-Off first leg right from the outset with neither side willing to give an inch. VfB had the first genuine opening with eight minutes on the clock but Timo Gebhart was unable to find the net with his header from a Pavel Pogrebnyak delivery. Despite the temperature of approximately 30°C, the game maintained a high tempo as the half drew on. Sami Khedira had a chance to open the scoring on the quarter hour mark but was denied by a good reaction save by Costel Pantilimon, whilst at the other end, Serdar Tasci was forced to make a last ditch clearance from Gigel Bucur. The visitors eventually made their breakthrough in the 28th minute when keeper Pantilimon took Ciprian Marica down in the box and Timo Gebhart converted the resulting penalty to make it 1-0. Just two minutes later, VfB increased their lead to 2-0 when Aliakdandr Hleb went on a mazy run and finished the move by clipping the ball over the on rushing keeper to give trainer Markus Babbel's men a comfortable lead going in at the break. It was the visitors who made the better start to the second period too and, after some initial difficulties, came close to scoring again when Pogrebnyak tested Pantilimon. There was little for Jens Lehmann to do throughout the tie but the VfB keeper was always in total control and marshalled his defence well to prevent the home side from creating anything of real danger. In the 81st minute, substitute Julian Schuster had the opportunity to score a third for Babbel's men but his effort landed directly in the arms of the Timisoara keeper. In the end, VfB played out the second 45 minutes and secured themselves a 2-0 advantage to take back to the Mercedes-Benz Arena for the return leg next Wednesday.

Ioan Ovidiu Sabau, coach of FC Timisoara: "This result is too big comparing with what it has played on the field. We had enough opportunities to score and I think the difference is too big. It was a very important match and we played without courage, we weren't focused enough. We received too easy the second goal and we couldn't return in the game then. Comparing with the matches against Shakhtar, we didn't have the same aggressiveness, the same organization and tactical discipline. We played with too much fear, maybe because we knew that group stage is very close. However, I congratulate the players, because they wanted to obtain a good result, they fought a lot, so I have nothing to reproch to them. Our chances to qualify are very small now".

Markus Babbel, coach of Stuttgart: "I didn't warn about Timisoara before the game for no reason. They were dangerous from set pieces the whole time but my team did exactly what I had told them to do. They worked really hard and created lots of chances on goal. I'm delighted that the lads were rewarded for the immense effort they put in. It didn't matter who took the penalty kick so long as it was converted. Alex Hleb's goal was absolutely world class. He may not be 100% just yet but he helps the team with his presence alone. We are a good step closer to our target now - no more and no less than that!".