Champions League Wednesday Review
Peter Crouch's hat-trick helped Tottenham wipe out the memory of last week's nightmare in Switzerland.
Spurs advanced to the Champions League group stages at the expense of Young Boys.
Crouch headed home a Gareth Bale cross after just five minutes to draw the home side level on aggregate and complete a nervous comeback from the 3-0 deficit they had faced at one stage in Bern.
Jermain Defoe was fortunate to get on the scoresheet in the 32nd when he clearly handled en route to goal but any complaints were rendered irrelevant as Spurs went on to win at a canter.
In a dominant second half Crouch added his second with another header before completing his hat-trick from the spot in the 78th minute after Senad Lulic had been sent off for a foul on Bale.
French side Auxerre pulled off a stunning comeback to defeat runaway Russian League leaders and former UEFA Cup winners Zenit St Petersburg 2-0 on the night for a 2-1 aggregate win.
Goals from Cedric Hengbart and Ireneusz Jelen cancelled out the Russians' slender first-leg lead and the night ended in acrimony for the visitors with both goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev and defender Tomas Hubocan sent off.
Martin Jol's Ajax edged into the group stages with a 2-1 win on the night against Dynamo Kiev earning them a 3-2 aggregate victory over the Ukrainians.
Luis Suarez put the Dutch side ahead in the 43rd minute and a second from Mounir El Hamdaoui on 75 appeared to put the tie safe. Andriy Shevchenko's 84th minute penalty caused a few anxious moments.
Zilina completed a surprisingly easy win over Sparta Prague with Momoudou Ceesay's early goal giving them a 1-0 win on the night and a 3-0 success on aggregate.
In the night's other tie, Solvi Ottesen's 33rd minute effort gave Danish side FC Copenhagen a 1-0 win over Rosenborg on the night, which was enough to see his side through on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate score.
Match Report
(Spurs 6-3 on aggregate)
Other Scores
Auxerre 2-0 Zenit St Petersburg
(Auxerre 2-1 on aggregate)
Ajax 2-1 Dyanmo Kiev
(Ajax 3-2 on aggregate)
Zilina 1-0 Sparta Prague
(Zilina 3-0 on aggregate)
Copenhagen 1-0 Rosenborg
(2-2 on aggregate, Copenhagen through on away goals)
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