Sion have booked a place in the first round of the UEFA Cup with a well deserved 3:0 win over Ried. The Swiss outfit, who've needed a late goal to avoid defeat in the first leg despite being the better of the sides, have took off from where they've stopped in Austria, and were by far the better side of the two during the entire match, missing a few scoring chances before Obradovic and Zaki have given them a 2:0 halftime lead with goals in short succession. Dominguez has killed the game off with a 47th minute goal, but Sion have looked as by far the more likely team to score the fourth goal of the match in it's remainder, despite taking their feet of the gas in the closing half an hour.

Home manager Bigon has obviosly entered the match without too much respect for the Austrians, as he has decided to leave some regular first team players, such as midfielder Reset and striekr Saborio, on the bench, and Ahoeya and Zaki have taken advantage of the situation, getting starts in the middle and attack, respectively. On the other side, Ried manager Kraft had to deal with the absence of his team's captain Herwig Drechsel, an absence which allowed Brenner to get a chance in the middle. Striker Damjanovic has started his final match for the club, but walked off the pitch in the 35th minute due to a minor injury.

Sion have put the visitors under heavy pressure from the very beginning of the match, but none of the teams has really looked like scoring in the opening stages, with the home side sending a number of unsuccessful crosses into Ried's area, and the Vikings failed with their counter attack due to a last gasp tackle. Zaki was a herald of what was to come in the 39th minute, when he made Berger into a point blank save, and Obradovic made it one for Sion a minute later, with a well placed shot from around the penalty spot. Berger made a save to deny Alioui making it 2:0 in the 42 minute, but was helpless a minute later, when Zaki made it two for Sion with a lovely shot from outside the area. Just after the side change, Dominguez headed home to kill all the hopes that the visitors might have had of a miracle turn around. The game lost in liveliness after the third goal, but Sion had chances to score the fourth despite their lack of motivation, with Dominguez missing the best one five minutes from time, when he hit only the woodwork with the goal at his mercy.

It was a well deserved win for Sion, who are definitely by far the better side of the two and should've probably secured their progression in the first leg. On the other side, Ried don't look as a team capable of performing their last season's success, and will most likely return to mid table mediocrity after being the Dark Horse of Bundesliga over the last two seasons.