Football: Fenerbahce beat Sturm Graz in Europa League

ANKARA Fenerbahce have eliminated Sturm Graz 3-2 on aggregate in the two sides' UEFA Europa League third qualifying round match in Istanbul on Thursday. The Yellow Canaries managed to draw 1-1 at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, moving on to the play-off round in the second-tier European club competition. Fenerbahce found the first goal of the match in 32nd minute, when two new signings connected swiftly to deliver a header. Mathieu Valbuena assisted with the cross to Nabil Dirar who put Fenerbahce 1-0 up. The second half saw a much more resilient Sturm Graz side as the Austrian club equalized in the 66th minute. Philipp Huspek calmly finished with a low driven shot, beating goalkeeper Volkan Demirel. Fenerbahce held on for the remainder of the match, moving on to the play-off round. The play-off draw will be held on Friday at 1100GMT.