Marsaxlokk crash to 4-0 defeat in Croatia

Slaven Koprivnica eased through to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup after they beat Marsaxlokk 4-0 at the Gradski Stadium to complete an 8-0 aggregate win.

The Croats, buoyed by their 4-0 win in the first leg in Malta last month, were again in dominant form with Marsaxlokk rarely capable of forcing their way into their opponents' half.

In the first period, the Croats saw more off the ball but were frustrated by some good defensive work by the Maltese side.

Slaven's pressure finally paid off on 24 minutes when Asim Sehic's angled shot was palmed away by Marsaxlokk goalkeeper Saviour Darmanin but in came Bilen who rifled the ball into the net.

After this breakthrough Slaven Koprivnica eased off the pressure and Marsaxlokk started to get more into the picture even though they rarely tested the hosts' defence.

After the break Talbot withdrew Renato Conceicao and Julio Alcorse who were replaced by Brian Said and Christian Cassar as the English coach looked to add more cover at the back.

Slaven's pressure increased in the second half with Darmanin pulling off a fine save on Kresinger while Juric's header finished just wide.

Eighteen minutes from time, Slaven doubled their lead when Kristjan Caval's powerful long-range shot gave Darmanin no chance.

Marsaxlokk had little time to recover when Slaven struck again two minutes later. Bojan Vrucina beat the offside trap before slidding the ball past Darmanin.

Slaven Koprivnica sealed their win in time added on when Vrucina tucked the ball home from close in.

Marsaxlokk: S. Darmanin, M. Licari, C. Mamo, W. Camenzuli, R. Conceicao ('46 B. Said), G. Sciberras ('76 M. Pereira), P. Pullicino, K. Sammut, T. Templeman, S. Wellman, J. Alcorse ('46 C. Cassar).