Manchester City advanced to the second round of UEFA Cup qualifying after completing a 4-0 aggregate victory over Faroe Islands club EB/Streymur.  City advances with a 2-0 win in today’s second leg, played at Barnsley’s Oakwell.

Only a strong match from EB goaltender Rene Torgard kept the score within two.  Manchester City dominated the club from the small island-nation located between the British Isles and Iceland.  Torgard turned away three strong scoring chances from City before midfielder Martin Petrov broke through in the forty-eighth minute, with his second goal of the tie.  Darius Vassell (pictured) completed the match’s scoring in stoppage time.

EB were held without a shot on goal while Citeh put 17 of their 35 shots on net, controlling almost four-fifths of the possession.

City’s performance came despite being short on forwards, with Jô with the Brazilian national team and Benjani Mwaruwari, their starting striker at the end of last season, out with a long-term leg injury.  Darius Vassell started as one forward, teamming with 18-year-old Daniel Sturridge.

Despite these short-comings, Manchester City advances to the second UEFA Cup qualifying round.  They will find out their next opponent after tomorrow’s draw, which will determine who they play will over August 14 and August 28’s second round legs.

Aston Villa will also be drawn into the second round tomorrow after qualifying via Intertoto Cup.

Thursday’s second leg had to be played at Oakwell in Barnsley because of a scheduling conflict that saw Manchester City’s customary home ground, City of Manchester Stadium, previous scheduled with a Bon Jovi concert.

Yesterday, Aston Villa’s 1-0 victory over Danish side Odense BK gave them entrance into Europe, winning one of eleven Intertoto Cup births and becoming the ninth Premiership side to qualify for European football.

Ashley Young’s 50th minute goal held up, giving Villa a 3-2 win on aggregate following last week’s 2-2 draw in Denmark.

The Intertoto birth gives them entrance into second round UEFA Cup qualifying, where they and fellow Premiership side Manchester City, who qualified for Europe via the fair-play league, hope to make it through to the main UEFA Cup draw.

The match, which came on the same day as Villa announced the acquisition of new starting goaltender Brad Friedel, saw the return to action for wantaway midfielder Gareth Barry, who came on as a fourteenth minute substitute. Perhaps because of the circumstance - coming on to provide a lift for a squad dealing with an injured player - Barry received applause from a fan base that has been antagonistic toward his desire to leave the club. Martin O’Neill had said prior to the match that Barry could play if the player’s attitude and the manager’s inclination to put him in. When left back Wilfred Bouma went down with a serious ankle injury, O’Neill decided to put in his star midfielder with the hopes of capturing the qualifying goal.

Bouma is expected to miss four months after suffering a dislocated right ankle in an incident that led some to compare it to last year’s injury to Arsenal’s Eduardo de Silva. Initial appearances had many thinking the injury a compound fracture, like de Silva’s. De Silva missed Euro 2008 in recovering and is still not back to full health. Though the incident itself looked like it could have been as bad, Bouma’s initial prognosis is much better - a dislocated right ankle - though missing the rest of 2008 with an injury is no light timetable.

Although their transfer activity could still address the issue, the Bouma injury leaves Aston Villa particularly thin at defense. The injury could force acting captain Nigel Reo-Coker,a natural midfielder, to see more time in the back, something he was called on to do sparingly last season. Reo-Coker was already likely to see time at right back with Villa having failed to replace new Juventus back Olaf Mellberg. Now Martin O’Neill will need to act quickly to strengthen the back line.

On August 1st, Aston Villa will find out who they are matched-up against in UEFA Cup second round qualifying. Their entrance into European football will see them join (Champions League clubs) Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, (UEFA Cup clubs) Everton, Portsmouth, Tottenham and Manchester City.

 Rating; 3(Likely)

According to goal.com, Romanian giants Steaua Bucharest are expressing interest in FC Dallas playmaker Juan Toja. The 23 year old Columbian joined FC Dallas after spending the year on loan from River Plate. Toja has been capped at the U20 level for Columbia, and has been named to the MLS All Star team each year since his arrival.  Toja is said to be interested in the move as it could see him playing in either the Uefa Cup or Champions League tournaments. What do you think? How much should FC Dallas be asking for? Would it be a good move for Juan?

The Mark Hughes-era at Manchester City will begin in two weeks when the Blues open UEFA Cup qualifying in the Faroe Islands.   Their opponent will be EB/Streymur of the Faroes’ Premier League.

EB/Streymur was formed in 1993 and has only been in the country’s top division for eight years.  They finished second in the Formuladeild last season and currently sit atop the league’s table.

Manchester City, the only Premiership side active at this point in the competition, is expected to have little problem in their away leg on July 17.  The match is currently scheduled to be played at Vio Margair, the EB/Streymur ground that has a capacity of 1,000.  The park sits between a car lot and a mountain.

The teams are discussing a switch to the 6,000-seat national stadium in Torshavn, the nation’s capital, where the Faroese Cup final is hosted each year.  The match could also be switched to the stadium in Toftir.

Despite the need to relocate, EB director Roland Hojsted said that Manchester City was his number one choice of opponent before the draw.  He joked when asked what City can expect from their trip, “They can expect to lose.”

The return leg of the tie has already been moved from City of Manchester Stadium to Barnsley FC’s Oakwell to accommodate a previously scheduled Bon Jovi concert.

City avoided match-ups with the six other British and Irish opponents in the draw, instead drawing a club from the small island nation located between Iceland, Norway, and the British Isles.  The Faroe Islands played host to countries such as France and Italy during qualifying for Euro 2008 and will now host Mark Hughes’s City debut.