Europa League 2015 Results: Scores, Fixtures After Third Qualifying Round, Leg 1
West Ham United were held to a surprise draw against Astra Giurgiu of Romania at Upton Park, leaving the Londoners' hopes of progression in danger.
The visitors grabbed two late goals to take the draw and now have a great chance of beating the Premier League side in the return leg on August 6.
There were routine wins on Thursday night for Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund and Premier League side Southampton, as well as a victory for La Liga's Athletic Bilbao.
Read on for the full list of results from the first legs of the third qualifying round:
| Kairat Almaty | 2-1 | Aberdeen |
| IF Elfsborg | 2-1 | Odd |
| AIK | 1-3 | Atromitos Athens |
| Apollon Limassol | 1-1 | FK Qabala |
| Altach | 2-1 | Vitoria Guimaraes |
| FK Krasnodar | 2-0 | Slovan Bratislava |
| PAOK Salonika | 1-0 | Spartak Trnava |
| Sturm Graz | 2-3 | Rubin Kazan |
| Slovan Liberec | 2-1 | Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona |
| AZ Alkmaar | 2-0 | Istanbul Basaksehir |
| FC Thun | 0-0 | FC Vaduz |
| FC Zurich | 0-1 | Dinamo Minsk |
| MSK Zilina | 2-0 | Vorskla Poltava |
| ASA Targu Mures | 0-3 | St Etienne |
| Brondby | 0-0 | Omonia Nicosia |
| Debrecen | 2-3 | Rosenborg |
| FK Kukes | 1-2 | Legia Warsaw |
| Rabotnicki | 1-0 | Trabzonspor |
| Bordeaux | 3-0 | AEK Larnaka |
| Sporting de Charleroi | 0-2 | Zorya Luhansk |
| Standard Liege | 2-1 | Zeljeznicar Sarajevo |
| Athletic Bilbao | 2-0 | Inter Baku |
| West Ham | 2-2 | Astra Giurgiu |
| Belenenses | 2-1 | IFK Goteborg |
| Hajduk Split | 2-0 | Stromsgodset |
| Sampdoria | 0-4 | FK Vojvodina |
| Wolfsberger AC | 0-1 | Borussia Dortmund |
| Southampton | 3-0 | Vitesse |
(A full list of second leg fixtures can be found at UEFA.com)
West Ham Held To Shock Draw
West Ham catastrophically surrendered a two-goal home lead against Romanian minnows Astra Giurgiu, with the visitors scoring a late double to shock the east London club.
It had all started so well for Slaven Bilic's Hammers—who took a first-half advantage through Ecuador international Enner Valencia.
New signing Dimitri Payet—making his European bow for West Ham—was the influence behind his team's opening strike. It was his corner that was rebounded back out to him, and the France international made sure with his second delivery, expertly finding Valencia's head after 23 minutes.
Bilic's team doubled their advantage just after the break after a virtuoso effort from Mauro Zarate.
The 28-year-old Argentinian, looking for his breakthrough season this year with the Hammers, expertly dribbled into the Astra penalty area, passing the ball into the back of the net. It was Zarate's first goal for his club at Upton Park after signing 12 months previous.
However, with West Ham in cruise control, the night was to become toxic for the Londoners, as Astra failed to follow the script.
Defender James Collins turned the game on his head after receiving two yellow cards in quick succession, leaving the Hammers to play with 10 men for the final 30 minutes.
And it was to prove a costly error as Astra scored 12 minutes later, Fernando Boldrin pulling one back for his team.
The night then ended in heartbreak for West Ham, with new defensive signing Angelo Ogbonna heading into his own net with just eight minutes of time remaining. It was a crushing blow for Bilic and his men, with the Hammers now facing a tricky away trip in the second leg.
BVB and Southampton Cruise To Wins
Borussia Dortmund made no mistake in their match against Austrian outfit Wolfsberger, taking a slim 1-0 away win against their opponents.
Jonas Hofmann grabbed the all important goal on the night, scoring after 16 minutes. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan combined beautifully to give Hofmann the easiest of chances, with the Germany under-21 winger assuredly slotting the ball home.
Southampton were in impressive form as they took a huge step toward the group stage by beating Vitesse Arnhem. The Dutch team—who finished fifth in the Eredivisie last term—were no match for their English counterparts at St Mary's, with the Saints running out 3-0 winners.
Goals from Graziano Pelle, a penalty from Dusan Tadic and a late header by substitute Shane Long was enough for Ronald Koeman's team, who look assured to progress.
BVB and Southampton will be two of the favourites to progress deep into the competition, but it could be a humiliating exit for West Ham if they continue this run of form.
They've started their early campaign stuck in middle gear, and they will have to improve to take a win when they visit Astra in Romania in one week.
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