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Swans through despite defeat

#INSERT type:image caption:Swansea advanced to the next stage despite defeat. END# Swansea reached the knockout stages of the Europa League despite a disappointing 1-0 defeat in the fog and cold of St Gallen. The Welsh club knew a draw would be enough to guarantee their progression from Group A, but Kuban Krasnodar's failure to beat Valencia in Spain ensured this defeat did not prove costly. In sub-zero temperatures and with a low fog hindering visibility, the visitors had the better of the opening half with Roland Lamah twice going close. But they slackened off after the break and were punished when Marco Mathys found the net from close range with 10 minutes to go. Swansea's preparations for this fixture had been far from ideal after fog and technical issues ensured their journey to Switzerland on Wednesday took over 12 hours. Some players were also awoken by a shallow earth tremor in the early hours of the morning. But they managed to take an early control of the match, with Lamah curling just wide and later firing narrowly off-target with a low shot. However, their hosts were much improved after the break and Roberto Rodriguez was twice denied by Gerhard Tremmel after some poor Swansea defending. The hosts had a goal chalked off for a push on Neil Taylor but found the winner their efforts deserved when Mathys prodded in a low cross from Sebastien Wuthrich. Swansea still reached the latter stages of a European tournament for the first time in their history, and they will be in Monday's draw for the last 32 along with the likes of Benfica, Ajax, Napoli and Juventus. The cold and the fog made for testing conditions and contributed to an instantly forgettable opening 45 minutes with few chances and fewer moments of real quality. Swansea did at least have the better of proceedings and they could have led early on when Lamah seized on a loose ball and curled a left-footed strike just wide of the far post. Jonjo Shelvey, one of few players who stood out during the drab first period, then worked St Gallen keeper Marcel Herzog with a low shot as Swansea had plenty of joy with rapid counter-attacks. As the fog started to descend, Wayne Routledge burst into the box but a heavy touch let the ball run away from him and the chance was gone. But it was not entirely comfortable for Swansea, as sloppy passing and poor positioning offered up some promising positions. Full-back Dwight Tiendalli's decision to allow Ermir Lenjani the freedom of the left-hand side of the field was particularly poor, and roused manager Michael Laudrup from the bench after the midfielder had flashed a shot just wide. At the other end Lamah once again went close having been teed up by a Routledge flick, but he put his low effort inches wide with Herzog beaten. Wilfried Bony, returning from a hamstring injury, powerfully headed narrowly wide from a Jonathan de Guzman corner, but Swansea then survived two big scares. Mathys' pass put Rodriguez in on goal but Tremmel saved his low effort, and followed that with another good stop from the same player after Tiendalli had played three St Gallen players onside. Swansea then lost Chico Flores with what appeared to be an ankle problem, and their discomfort continued when Wuthrich struck the post with a free-kick. Swansea looked to have fallen behind when the ball hit Neil Taylor and rolled in, but the goal was ruled out for a push on the defender by Wuthrich. Jose Canas, on for Flores, then cleared a Mathys header off the line as the pressure increased. The pressure finally told when Mathys netted, but it was not enough to prevent Swansea's progression.

PA Sport

Krasnodar hammer sorry St Gallen

Kuban Krasnodar claimed their first win in Europa League Group A in style as they swept aside St Gallen 4-0.Lorenzo Melgarejo was on target twice, opening the scoring in the third minute and getting the third 18 minutes from time.Vladislav Ignatiev netted the second in the 55th minute and Charles Kabore rounded off the rout at the death as Kuban moved above their opponents into third place in the pool on five points.The comprehensive win was no less than they deserved for a display of total domination and indeed the scoreline flattered St Gallen.The hosts got off to a flying start as Melgarejo volleyed Anton Sosnin's ball in from the right low into the net.Aleksei Kozlov forced a parry from St Gallen goalkeeper Daniel Lopar with a shot from the centre of the area, while at the other end Aleksandr Belenov had to be alert to deny Mario Mutsch.That was a rare moment of promise from the Swiss side, though.The Russians were well on top and Melgarejo almost got a second only to head wide from close range from Sosnin's free-kick.Djibril Cisse fired against a post from outside the area and Ignatiev also hit the frame of the goal with an effort from much closer in.Kuban were desperately unlucky not to be more than one goal ahead at half-time, but they did not have to wait long into the second half to double their lead.A minute after Ivelin Popov had a shot parried by Lopar he laid on the pass which Ignatiev slid home from the left of the six-yard box.Melgarejo made it three with his second of the match in the 72nd minute with another close-range finish, this time pounding on Igor Armas' knock-down.Already home and dry, the hosts nevertheless kept on pressing and Cisse headed over when well-placed.But Kabore was on target from another Armas head down, firing a low shot into the right corner in injury time to round off a dominant display.

Valencia claim late win

#INSERT type:image caption:Valencia came from behind to secure a late win against St Gallen. END# Valencia climbed to the top of Group A after edging ten-man St Gallen 3-2 in the Europa League encounter at the AFG Arena.The Spaniards trailed 2-1 after 66 minutes before late goals from substitute Pablo Piatti and Sergio Canales earned them the win.The Swiss, beaten 5-1 by the Spanish outfit two weeks ago in Valencia, saw Stephane Besle cancel out Piatti's opener in the 37th minute.St Gallen's Philippe Montandon saw red before the hour mark after bringing down Jonas in the area.Jonas saw his resulting penalty saved by St Gallen goalkeeper Daniel Lopar before Goran Karanovic gave the hosts the lead.Piatti levelled matters in the 76th minute before Canales drove in the winner for Valencia four minutes from time.The result has allowed Valencia to leapfrog Swansea into top spot after the Welsh outfit drew 1-1 at Kuban Krasnodor.St Gallen are third in the pool, five points adrift of Swansea, who trail one point behind Valencia with two games remaining.The visitors had the first real chance in the 27th minute when Canales' free-kick struck the far post with Lopar already beaten.Valencia took the lead on the half hour mark with Canales seeing his direct free-kick hit the post again but Piatti was quick to tap in the rebound.The hosts pulled level before half-time when Nater's close-range header from Montandon's assist beat Valencia goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.The Spaniards could have gone back in front in the 57th minute but Jonas hit a weak spot-kick and Lopar kept it out.The home side went ahead when Karanovic played a one-two with Ricardo Costa and hit a left-footed strike past Guaita.Valencia came close to equalising in the 70th minute but Helder Postiga's attempt was denied by the woodwork.The visitors were rewarded soon after when Postiga fed Piatti in the box and he smashed the ball towards the far post and out of Lopar's reach.Canales had the last say as he got behind subsitute Daniel Parejo's cross and fired a right-footed shot from 25 yards past Lopar.ends

Valencia crush sorry St Gallen

#INSERT type:image caption:Paco Alcacer celebrates after opening the scoring for Valencia. END# St Gallen endured a chastening visit to Spain as they were crushed 5-1 by Valencia and were overtaken by them in second in Europa League Group A. • Highlights: <a href="http://espnfc.com/video/espnfc/video/_/id/1593917/league/uefa.europa">Valencia 5-1 St Gallen (US and Caribbean only)</a> The Swiss side were humiliated at the Mestalla, barely getting out of their own half, especially as Valencia dominated the whole of the opening 45 minutes.Fede Cartabia scored his first goals for Los Che as he bagged a brace, while Paco Alcacer and Ricardo Costa were also on target before the break.Only brilliant St Gallen keeper Daniel Lopar kept the score down, with Sergio Canales beating him for a fifth time in the second half before St Gallen somehow scored through Stephane Nater.Valencia now sit second in the group on six points, just one behind leaders Swansea, with St Gallen in third and horribly beaten.The writing was on the wall for them from the get-go as Canales drew a save from Lopar with just 43 seconds gone, with the goalkeeper working again three minutes later as Juan Bernat cracked an effort in.Canales then took aim with no joy again but it was no surprise that the scoring started with 12 minutes gone as Alcacer finished after an already overworked Lopar could only parry Pablo Piatti's shot.Mario Mutsch registered St Gallen's first shot in anger but it offered nothing more than momentary respite as Cartabia whipped in a fine second from the edge of the area with 20 minutes on the clock.It was difficult not to feel for Lopar as Alcacer and Dani Parejo both stung his hands, but despite his excellence he was picking the ball out of the net for a third time in the 30th minute.Cartabia was the scorer again, showing a killer streak for a second time as he ran on to Joao Pereira's pass and finished from the edge of the box.Ricardo Costa made it four three minutes later as he nodded in after a Victor Ruiz flick and had Piatti shown greater poise from six yards, it would have been five. The same applied to Parejo and Piatti again just before the whistle was blown.Piatti ensured Valencia started the second half on the front foot too, although the finishing was not as sharp, with Canales and Alcacer off the mark.Lopar kept the score at four when he repelled Juan Bernat, with Piatti wide on the rebound, but the inevitable fifth was scored with 20 minutes remaining.Canales got it, whipping in a 25-yard free-kick that added further balance to the scoreline, but that was quickly cancelled out as St Gallen miraculously got their act together and scored through a 74th-minute Nater tap-in.That would be that, though, and Valencia coasted through to the end.

Routledge wins it for Swans

#INSERT type:image caption:Wayne Routledge was Swansea's Europa League match-winner against St Gallen. END# Swansea went clear at the top of Europa League Group A with a scrappy 1-0 win over St Gallen at the Liberty Stadium.Wayne Routledge got the only goal of the game six minutes into the second half, tapping in at the far post.Swansea were a long way short of the form they showed in humbling Valencia at the Mestalla in their first group game, and the visitors would have taken something from the game had striker Goran Karanovic converted a first-half penalty.The game was hardly helped by the inconsistent and fussy refereeing of Duarte Gomes, but Swansea can now head into the home game with Kuban Krasnodar later this month knowing a win would make them strong favourites to claim a place in the last 32.But St Gallen will rue failing to take their golden opportunity to cause an upset when it arrived in just the 14th minute.Dwight Tiendalli was adjudged to have handled in the box, but Karanovic's weak spot-kick was easily saved by Gerhard Tremmel.To add injury to insult Karanovic was removed at half-time having had no recollection of his miss after being concussed in a collision with Tremmel.The rest of the first half was overshadowed by the lengthy running repairs administered to Michu after the forward suffered a cut to the head. He missed more than eight minutes of play and ended up getting through five shirts before the night was out.But Routledge got the decisive strike when Wilfried Bony's shot from Alejandro Pozuelo's pass was only half saved, and the winger had the easy task of finishing.St Gallen's 12-match unbeaten run and wins over Spartak Moscow and Kuban Krasnodar in this competition suggested they would provide the sternest test Swansea had yet faced in Europe, and so it proved.The Swiss side looked sharp on the counter and one such rapid attack led to the penalty.Roberto Rodriguez's cross struck Tiendalli on the arm and, although Swansea protested, it looked a fair decision from Gomes.But Karanovic, with nine goals to his name so far this season, produced a dreadful penalty, with the stutter in his run-up ensuring his effort lacked power and Tremmel gratefully saved.Marco Mathys also wasted a gilt-edged chance for the visitors, sliding his shot past the advancing Tremmel, but narrowly beyond the post.Swansea responded by hitting the woodwork. Ben Davies floated over a free-kick and Daniel Lopar just about pushed Jordi Amat's header onto the post.Michu, having already had one penalty claim rejected, then went down in the box as Stephane Besle caught him on the head.Again no spot-kick was given, but with the Spaniard flat out on the turf having suffered a head injury, Swansea were incensed when Gomes did not stop play, as he had when Karanovic stayed down after his clash with Tremmel.Michu got to his feet with blood streaming from a cut and a farce developed as efforts to stem the flow, including vaseline, bandages and a change of shirt, all failed.He was then prevented from returning as blood seeped onto his change shirt, before a numberless jersey was finally deemed up to standard and he wandered back on after a full eight-and-a-half minutes off the field.During his absence Tremmel was forced to quickly regather a Mathys shot after fumbling initially, while Bony fired narrowly wide after Swansea's best passage of play.But Michu, now with a name and number on his jersey after a member of backroom staff was despatched to the club shop during the break, and his team-mates only had to wait six minutes into the second half for the opener as Routledge tapped in at the far post.After the goal, Swansea finally enjoyed some semblance of control.However, they almost had a rude awakening when Karanovic's replacement Alhassane Keita beautifully brought down a long ball and lofted over Tremmel, but also over the bar.At the other end substitute Alvaro Vazquez, on for Bony, almost doubled Swansea's lead with his first contribution, racing clear but curling just wide.Lopar then saved brilliantly from Dyer, before Swansea saw out a nervy period of injury time, with Stephane Netar striking the post from distance, to make it two wins from two.

St Gallen make easy work of Kuban

St Gallen opened their Europa League Group A account with a 2-0 win against 10-man Kuban Krasnodor.Goran Karanovic opened the scoring for the Swiss side after 56 minutes and Marco Mathys added a second 21 minutes later before the Russian side had Charles Kabore dismissed for a second booking in injury time.After a slow start St Gallen forced a corner but when the delivery came in from Roberto Rodriguez to the near post the ball was cleared by Kuban's Angel Dealbert.Gheorghe Bucur shot over the bar for the visitors before Mario Mutsch saw his effort caught by Aleksandr Belenov.The first booking of the game was picked up by Kuban's Aleksei Kozlov forn a foul on St Gallen's Ermir Lenjani and Ivan Martic then went closest to breaking the deadlock with a long-range shot which hit the bar.Martic then set up Rodriguez who shot wide before seeing Belenov save his next effort.St Gallen's Philippe Montandon headed wide with the first chance of the second half before Kuban's Ivelin Popov volleyed off target before another effort was blocked by St Gallen's Daniel Lopar.But just over 10 minutes into the second half St Gallen took the lead when Rodriguez's cross was blocked by Belenov but Karanovic converted the rebound from close range.Karanovic saw another shot blocked by Belenov before firing an effort off target.With 15 minutes to go, Kabore fouled Mathys, picking up his first caution. Dejan Janjatovic's free-kick found Mathys who converted with a shot from inside the six-yard box.And to round things off, two minutes into stoppage time Kuban were reduced to 10 men when Kabore was dismissed for a second bookable offence for a foul on Mutsch.

Team	GP	W	D	L	GD	P
Young Boys	5	3	2	0	+10	11
St Gallen	5	3	0	2	+5	9
Grasshoppers	5	2	3	0	+2	9
FC Sion	5	2	2	1	+1	8
Servette	5	2	2	1	-1	8
FC Lugano	5	2	0	3	+2	6
FC Luzern	4	1	2	1	-2	5
FC Basel	4	0	3	1	-2	3
Winterthur	5	0	2	3	-6	2
FC Zürich	5	0	2	3	-9	2

Team

+10

-1

-2