Dinamo Zagreb cruise in CL qualifying

PANEVEZYS, Jul 25 (SW) - Dinamo Zagreb made their mark on Champions League qualifying in a big way on Tuesday with a 4-1 win away to Lithuanian champions Ekranas in the second qualifying round.

The Croatian champions, who recently signed former German international Jens Nowotny, wasted no time getting on the scoresheet as Croatian international striker Eduardo da Silva fired home the opener after seven minutes.

The Lithuanians fought back, though, and in the 14th minute were level when Povilas Luksys headed in his third goal of the tournament to make it 1-1. That would be the only good moment on the night for Ekranas, however.

The class of the visitors came to the fore, and in the 31st minute Marijan Buljat put on a display of strength to fight off his marker and slot home the go-ahead goal, putting Dinamo firmly in control of the match.

Da Silva grabbed a second goal on 52 minutes after some lax Ekranas defending to make it 3-1, and Davor Vugrinec struck home from a counter with 20 minutes to go to put one foot in the third qualifying round.

The other 13 first legs in the second qualifying round will take place on Wednesday with the third qualifying round draw set for Friday.