BELGRADE, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Serbian Red Star (Crvena Zvezda) beat Latvian Spartaks Jurmala 2-0 here on Tuesday to secure the place in the second round of the UEFA Champions League qualifications.
After the goalless draw in Riga in the first game, champions of Serbia and Latvia played the key second game here at the Rajko Mitic stadium to decide who will proceed to the second phase.
At the start of the match, Nemanja Milic had two good attempts with his head, first in the 12th minute when he aimed just above the goal and the second around the 30th minute when the goalkeeper of the Latvian team, Jevgenijs Nerugals, stopped the shot. The first half ended goalless.
In the second half, Spartaks' Kaspars Svarups tried to score with his header in the 55th minute from a fast counterattack but missed.
In the 63rd minute, Red Star's Nemanja Radonjic caught a deflected shot just in front of the goal, but his shot was denied by the post. In the 69th minute, Filip Stojkovic missed the shot from just several yards from the goal.
Finally in the 78th minute, Ben El Fardou managed to score after connecting a corner kick, bringing the late lead to the Serbian team, while Nenad Krsticic scored the second goal for the home team just three minutes later after a fast counterattack.
Red Star will play against Lithuanian champions Suduva Marijampole next week in Belgrade in the second round of Champions League qualifying.?
