ten-man villarreal march on published: friday 25 february 2005, 0.15cet villarreal cf 2-0 fc dynamo kyiv (agg: 2-0) juan román riquelme's sending-off cannot halt villarreal.
by cristina lloret at el madrigal
villarreal cf are safely through to the last 16 of the uefa cup after beating fc dynamo kyiv on home soil with goalkeeper josé manuel reina's unbeaten home record in the competition this season safely intact despite juan román riquelme's dismissal.
steaua prize first-half goals from luciano figueroa and santiago cazorla earned the uefa intertoto cup winners a tie in the next round against fc steaua bucuresti, the conquerors of the holders, villarreal's local rivals valencia cf.
tense atmosphere there was tension at the el madrigal after last week’s first leg ended 0-0, especially as villarreal’s leading goalscorer diego forlán was unable to play through being cup-tied. to replace the uruguayan, coach manuel luis pellegrini opted for figueroa in attack and the argentinian forward got straight into action, seeing a shot saved by olexandr shovkovskiy after being released by héctor font. undeterred the hosts continued to press as riquelme blasted wide just moments later.
villarreal pressure ayila yussuf responded for dynamo but his sixth-minute effort failed to hit the target and was left rueing his missed chance when figueroa leapt to head villarreal in front on 20 minutes - josé mari romero supplying the decisive cross from the left. with a new lease of life, the home team went in search of a second goal and they were rewarded for their effort just after the half hour when cazorla fired superbly past the advancing shovkovskiy after some fine passing.
riquelme dismissed the party atmosphere was temporarily disturbed when riquelme was shown a second yellow card on 42 minutes for retaliation. the dismissal encouraged dynamo to take advantage of the extra man but they were held in check by some superb goalkeeping from reina. in fact, font could have added a third for villarreal at the death but his effort sailed over.
