Intertoto Cup, third round, first leg

Reasonable results for the two surviving Spanish sides in the first legs of the third round, with Deportivo beating Slaven 1-0 thanks to a late strike from Rubén Castro, and Valencia coming away from Gent with a 0-0 draw. (17.07.05)

Valencia started off their participation in the competition with a goal-less draw at AA Gent in Belgium, a result which gives them a slight advantage for the second leg in the Mestalla stadium. There was much speculation as to how new boss Quique Flores would line up, but in the end he opted for Kluivert alongside Di Vaio up front, with David Villa on the bench. The best chances of the match fell to Di Vaio, but he was unable to find the target and gave way to Villa midway through the second half. Otherwise though there was not much to talk about, although Cañizares did have some work to do to ensure his side kept the clean sheet that Flores wanted. (17.07.05)

Deportivo La Coruña's new coach Joaquín Caparrós put out a strong side against Slaven Belupo, with Sergio and Valerón returning and Luque up front. But the Catalan striker failed to convert two or three chances in the first half, and Valerón also headed a Munitis cross wide of the mark when free in front of goal. It was only when Caparrós rang the changes after the break that they were able to beat Lisjak, young substitutes Iván Carril and Rubén Castro combining for the latter to finish off after the keeper could only parry a shot from the former. A narrower lead than they would have liked to take in to the second leg in Croatia, but at least they didn't let in an away goal. (16.07.05)