Zenit St. Petersburg progressed to the play-off round of the 2010/11 Champions League on Wednesday evening with a 1:0 win over Romania's Unirea Urziceni.
Zenit coach Luciano Spalletti had urged his players to be patient after the first game had finished goalless in Romania and it took until the 33rd minute for his adventurous side to open the scoring, Portuguese international Danny striking home after a well-worked move.
The Russian Premier League leaders went in search of a second to all but seal victory after the break but were denied by the woodwork and the Romanian goalkeeper. Unirea took the opportunity to get back into the match and in the 73rd minute striker Dale forced a fingertip save from Zenit goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeyev.
The final 15 minutes saw both sides waste chances and the near-capacity stadium erupted with joy as the final whistle sounded.
Zenit will now go forward to a final play-off against the lowest-ranked qualifier from England, France, Italy, Germany or Spain. Unirea will have to make do with a play-off for a spot in the less lucrative and prestigious Europa League's group stage.
Zenit have only once previously taken part in Europe's elite club competition, finishing behind Juventus and Real Madrid in the group stages of the 2008/09 tournament.
MOSCOW, August 4 (RIA Novosti)
