Sport

Shearer eases passage

Newcastle United eased into the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup last night with a 3-0 win at Real Mallorca to go through 7-1 on…

Fri Mar 26 2004 - 00:00

Newcastle United eased into the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup last night with a 3-0 win at Real Mallorca to go through 7-1 on aggregate.

Alan Shearer scored twice for Newcastle in the second half with substitute Craig Bellamy also on target against a below-strength Mallorca side.

The Spanish strugglers, who are in danger of relegation in the Primera Liga, bombarded Newcastle in the first half as they tried desperately to make inroads into the 4-1 deficit from the first leg two weeks ago.

But Shearer ended the tie as a contest straight after the restart, latching on to a poor clearance from Mallorca goalkeeper Miki and steering home his shot.

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Mallorca continued to waste chances and were made to pay in the 78th minute when Bellamy raced away to dink a delightful shot over Miki. Shearer completed the rout with a tap-in a minute from the final whistle.

Newcastle will meet Dutch side PSV Eindhoven in the quarter-finals. PSV last night enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 win over AJ Auxerre thanks to a Mateja Kezman double and a goal from Mark van Bommel to go through 4-1 on aggregate.

Elsewhere, Spanish side Villareal advanced at the expense of AS Roma, a second-half Sonny Anderson strike leaving the Italian side on the wrong end of a 3-2 aggregate score.

After losing the first leg 2-0 in Spain, Roma's Emerson and Antonio Cassano grabbed lifeline goals to level the tie but Anderson undid their efforts with his 66th minute strike. Villareal will now meet Celtic in the quarter-finals.

In Italy, Inter Milan reached the quarter-finals after a 4-3 win over Benfica at the San Siro.

After a goalless first leg Benfica took the lead last nightthrough Nuno Gomes before Obafemi Martins equalised for Inter just before half time.

Inter's Alvaro Recoba put the home side ahead in the 61st minute and three minutes later Christian Vieri made it 3-1.

But Gomes brought Benfica back with a close-range effort only for Martins to grab Inter's fourth in the 70th minute. Mendes Tiago brought Benfica back to life in the 78th minute to ensure a nervous finale for Inter.

Club Bruges were beaten 1-0 by Girondins Bordeaux, slipping out of the tournament 4-1 on aggregate. Valencia went through 2-1 on aggregate against Turkish side Glenclerbirligi. After losing 1-0 away, Mista restored parity with a 64th-minute strike. Vicente grabbed the winner in extra time.