BERNE, (Reuters) – Nigeria keeper Vincent Enyeama scored a penalty as Hapoel Tel Aviv won 3-2 at Salzburg in their Champions League playoff first leg yesterday while Werder Bremen produced three quickfire strikes to beat Sampdoria 3-1.
Moldovan champions Sheriff Tiraspol, bidding to make the group stages for the first time, lost 1-0 at Swiss club Basel and Portugal’s Braga, also yet to qualify for the first round proper, beat Sevilla by the same scoreline.
Anderlecht drew 2-2 at Partizan Belgrade, the only Serbian club to have played in the group stages, in Wednesday’s other tie.
Enyeama gave one of the best goalkeeping performances at the 2010 World Cup when he restricted Argentina to a 1-0 win over Nigeria in the first round, repeatedly foiling dangerman Lionel Messi.
Yesterday he showed a different side to his game as he calmly converted a third-minute penalty for the Israeli league champions in the less glamorous surroundings of Salzburg’s half-empty stadium.
Salzburg, Austria’s biggest-spending club but foiled in their last three attempts to reach the group stages, levelled with a long-range Nikola Pokrivac shot in the 28th minute.
Ben Sahar and Itay Shechter netted either side of halftime for Hapoel before Roman Wallner pulled one back for the hosts with a 66th-minute penalty.
