Football
ESPN staff 7y

Celtic ease past Linfield with Sinclair brace; Legia Warsaw cruise through

Celtic booked their place in the Champions League third qualifying round as expected on Wednesday with a 4-0 trouncing of Linfield at Parkhead to go through 6-0 on aggregate.

The Hoops led 2-0 from the first leg against the Northern Irish part-timers at Windsor Park on Friday night and the return encounter was even more one-sided with Scott Sinclair's fourth-minute goal no reflection on the first 45 minutes.

The goals came more readily after the break as midfielder Tom Rogic, who like Sinclair had scored in Belfast, added a second two minutes after the restart before Sinclair grabbed another.

Substitute Stuart Armstrong added a fourth in added time to send Brendan Rodgers' side comfortably into the next round, where they will play Norwegian side Rosenborg with the first game at Celtic Park next week.

Rosenborg advanced after going to extra time against Dundalk with all to play for as Matthias Vilhjalmsson's 98th minute goal put the team from the Norwegian top flight through 3-2 on aggregate following a 2-1 final scoreline.

The League of Ireland champions, who had drawn 1-1 at home, made a stunning start when Brian Gartland headed them in front with just 12 minutes gone in the second leg.

Gartland's effort put the visitors 2-1 ahead on aggregate and raised hopes of a potential clash with Celtic at the next stage.

But Rosenborg responded by piling on the pressure and deserved their equaliser five minutes before the break when Yann-Erik de Lanlay slotted past Dundalk goalkeeper Gary Rogers.

The home side had the better of the second-half action and former Arsenal star Nicklas Bendtner missed a fine opportunity to put his side in front.

Rosenborg grabbed the second goal they deserved eight minutes into extra-time when Dundalk failed to clear their lines and Vilhjalmsson headed home for a 3-2 aggregate lead.

Dundalk's last hope of progressing from the tie was ended when substitute Ciaran Kilduff saw his late effort superbly saved by home keeper Andre Hansen.

For the second time in two legs, FC Salzburg ran out 3-0 winners against Hibernians to win 6-0 on aggregate. Goals from Mark Rzatkowski, Fredrik Gulbrandsen and Amadou Haidara paced the team from Austria's top flight.

Benjamin Verbic's 48th minute penalty helped FC Copenhagen to a 4-3 aggregate win against MSK Zilina, who prevailed in the second leg 2-1 courtesy of goals from Yusuf Otubanjo and Filip Kasalica but did not have enough to overturn their lopsided first-leg loss at home.

Apoel Nicosia needed only Igor de Camargo's 40th minute penalty to secure a 1-0 win against F91 Dudelange to advance 2-0 on aggregate.

A Claudiu Keseru double saw Ludogorets Razgrad ease past Zalgiris Vilnius 4-1 and 5-3 on aggregate in the second leg of their tie at the Ludogorets Arena. Natanael Pimienta and Wanderson added goals for the hosts in the runaway win.

IFK Mariehamn were utterly destroyed by Legia Warsaw over two legs, losing 6-0 in the second leg to go out by a final aggregate score of 9-0 as the Ekstraklasa club cruised into the next round.

An away goal from Cyrille Bayala was good enough to see Sheriff Tiraspol past FK Kukesi after the tie finished 2-2 on aggregate following the hosts 2-1 win on Wednesday.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva earned a 3-2 win away to Hungary's Honved to see out a 5-3 aggregate win, while Zrinjski Mostar couldn't overturn a 2-1 first-leg loss and went out 3-2 on aggregate to NK Maribor.

Information from PA Sport was used in this report.

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