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Ajax, AZ, Feyenoord and sc Heerenveen all advanced to the UEFA Cup group stages last night. FC Groningen enjoyed a 1-0 win, but were eliminated on aggregate. ?Two winsAjax had an easy challenge, following the 5-2 win over IK Start in the first leg. Ajax fielded some fringe players that thrashed the Norwegian side 4-0 in Amsterdam.FC Groningen also enjoyed victory, but the 1-0 win over Partizan Belgrade did not secure a safe passage to the group stages. FC Groningen, whose coach Ron Jans had signed a one-year extension to his contract one day before the return leg, were beaten 4-2 in the first leg. Three drawssc Heerenveen did not give their all, after the Frisian side had already earned an emphatic 3-0 win over Vítoria Setubal in the first leg in Portugal. They drew 0-0 in the Abe Lenstra stadium. Feyenoord also drew 0-0, at home against Lokomotiv Sofia, which was enough to take them through, as they had earned a 2-2 draw in the away match. AZ were facing a tough challenge, as they had to defend a 3-2 lead against Kayserispor from Turkey. When the hosts had taken a 1-0 lead, the Alkmaar outfit was given a scare. But when they had leveled the score, thanks to an own goal, they comfortably held on and made sure of qualifying to the next round. DrawThe draw for the group stages of the 2006/07 UEFA Cup will take place on Tuesday 3 October, at the UEFA Headquarters in Nyon in Switzerland, starting at 12:00. The forty participants will be drawn into eight groups of five, with each team playing two home and two away matches. The final will take place in Hampden Park in Glasgow. PSV hosted the UEFA Cup final in May 2006. Sevilla FC won the UEFA Cup in the Eindhoven Philips Stadion by beating Middlesbrough 4-0 in an entertaining game.
