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As many as five Dutch clubs have reached the group phase of the UEFA Cup competition. FC Twente were the only club to claim a victory on Matchday One, as Steve McClaren's team enjoyed a 1-0 victory at home against Racing Santander. Ajax, Feyenoord and N.E.C. suffered defeats on their travels. Heerenveen, who took on AC Milan at home, were beaten 3-1.
Aston Villa inflict defeat on Ajax
FC Twente striker Romano Denneboom scored an early goal to claim a 1-0 victory at home against the Spanish club Racing Santander. In the other Group A match, former PSV coach Fred Rutten and his assistant René Eijkelkamp guided Schalke 04 to a 3-1 home win over Paris St. Germain. Ajax again suffered defeat in an away game as Aston Villa inflicted a 2-1 defeat on the Amsterdam outfit. Martin Laursen gave Villa the lead after eight minutes, but defender Thomas Vermaelen restored parity for Ajax midway the first half. Gareth Berry scored the winner for Villa in Birmingham on the stroke of half time.
Tim Janssen goal
N.E.C. were close to pulling off a shock result against Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia. The visitors from Nijmegen were 2-1 ahead with ten minutes remaining, but substitute Boško Balaban and Ivica Vrdoljak scored late goals to secure a victory for Dinamo after all. Marijo Mandžukić gave the hosts the lead in the third minute but Zagreb player Carlos scored an equaliser after 24 minutes. Former Young PSV player Tim Jansen regained the lead for Mario Been's team, but two late goals stunned N.E.C.
Feyenoord and Heerenveen suffer defeats
Monsef Zerka, Julien Feret and Helder scored second-half goals to hand Nancy an emphatic 3-0 victory against Feyenoord. Sc Heerenveen faced a mission impossible when they took on giants AC Milan at the Abe Lenstra Stadium. Calvin Jong-A-Pin opened the scoring for the visitors with an own goal and Gennaro Gattuso doubled the Italians' lead in the first half. Filippo Inzaghi wrapped up the game twenty minutes from time. Danijel Pranjić scored a consolation from the spot in the closing stages. The next round of fixtures for the UEFA Cup is scheduled for Thursday 6 November.
