A first-half goal from Jermaine Jenas gave lacklustre Tottenham the advantage in their Uefa Cup first round first

A first-half goal from Jermaine Jenas gave lacklustre Tottenham the advantage in their Uefa Cup first round first leg here last night over a poor Slavia Prague side on the north London club's return to the European stage. Spurs produced a performance that mirrored their rather inauspicious start to the Premiership campaign. Sibierski edged the Magpies towards the group stage of the competition with a 10th-minute header from Damien Duff's free-kick but Martins, despite looking sharper, was left to rue a series of missed opportunities to open his account in the first-leg clash.. The 21-year-old Nigerian is still awaiting his first strike for the club after three games, and it was left to the debutant Antoine Sibierski to claim victory over Levadia Tallinn in their Uefa Cup match last night. The Newcastle manager Glenn Roeder has promised that the £10m striker Obafemi Martins would rediscover his touch in front of goal.

They left with boos from their own fans ringing in their ears after a damp squib. "It won't be easy [to go through on aggregate]," said the Hearts coach, Valdas Ivanauskas.Hearts suffered a surprise home defeat to St Mirren last weekend Now this. Injuries have been a problem, with four midfielders and two strikers unavailable last night. But with the wheels threatening to come off any sustained challenge to the Old Firm, Ivanauskas knows his job could be under threat "Ask someone else about that, not me," he said "Tomorrow is training as normal.". Hearts' hopes of progressing to the group stages of the Uefa Cup are all but over. The team had entered the pitch in smoke so thick from pre-game fireworks that it delayed kick-off by several minutes.

The margin of Sparta's win, kick-started by Daniel Kolar's cracking first-half strike, did not sufficiently reflect the gulf in class. Storm clouds ruled that out, so the team came down with a bump instead. Rangers were held to a goalless draw by the Norwegian club Molde in the Uefa Cup last night, leaving them a tougher return leg at Ibrox. Rangers were expected to beat a side who only managed to drag themselves off the bottom of their league on Saturday, but it was Molde who felt aggrieved by the result after a penalty claim was refused, and they had the better chances.. "Obviously we are disappointed," the Blackburn manager Mark Hughes said. "There was a goal in the last few seconds, and from our point of view the tie should have been over by then.".

Hearts had promised pre-match sky divers. With goals from Robbie Savage and Benni McCarthy, the visitors were poised to win on the continent for the first time in nine attempts - until Salzburg's Marc Janko grabbed an equaliser in injury-time in this first-round first-leg tie. Blackburn came within 90 seconds of creating club history last night, only to be cruelly denied. Mascherano faded after a bright, tidy start while Tevez, for all his skill, physicality and devilment, is patently short of fitness while struggling to connect with his new team-mates. Pardew disputed that - and praised Mascherano's contribution in particular saying that he "raised us a level" - but he admitted that he still needs to "harness their talents"..

West Ham's manager, Alan Pardew, handed full debuts to the Argentines but, although clearly players of substance, their impact was not that great on an evening of searing commitment. To reach the competition's group stages they have to go to Sicily in two weeks' time and overturn a single goal deficit which, given the accomplished if, frequently, robustly professional performance of Palermo last night, appears the tallest of orders. West Ham have the attacking verve to do so but the Italians, who played with a surprisingly high tempo, will be well equipped It should be some showdown. I think in the long term people will realise what a good job has been done at this football club.". The arrival of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano may have been a distraction for West Ham United - but the Uefa Cup soon may not be. They can see a situation at Sunderland, where someone comes along and pumps millions into the club - and they think 'why can't it be us?' They've had four or five years of being kicked where it hurts and they've seen their best players being sold."He added: "I think the fans need to know the real truth about this football club - but I don't think it will come out in the short term.