GENEVA -- Former European Cup winners Porto and Celtic took big steps toward the Champions League group stage on Wednesday, as home teams struggled in their playoff round, first-leg matches. Vita Vea Jersey . Two-time champion Porto won 1-0 in Lille, and Celtic took advantage of a reprieve from UEFA to play in the competition by drawing 1-1 at Maribor. Russian league leader Zenit St. Petersburgs 1-0 victory at Standard Liege helped ensure all five home teams failed to win. APOEL is favoured to advance next week in Cyprus after drawing 1-1 against Aalborg in Denmark. BATE Borisov took a 1-1 draw back to Belarus after Slovan Bratislava got an 80th-minute equalizer from veteran Slovakia forward Robert Vittek. Second-leg matches are played next Tuesday, two days before the 32-team group stage is drawn in Monaco. Each club is then guaranteed at last 8.6 million euros ($11.5 million) in prize money from UEFA. Porto and Lille both finished third in their national leagues last season, and it was Portugal which looked the classier act on this evidence. The only goal, in the 61st minute, had a World Cup flavour to it. Portos Mexico midfielder Hector Herrera pounced from close-range after Lilles Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama parried a header by Jackson Martinez, the Colombia forward. Lille rarely threatened, though defender Sebastien Corchia shot over from eight meters (yards) in the 45th after his first shot was blocked. Celtic, the 1967 champion, owed its appearance in the playoffs to UEFAs lawyers after losing home and away to previous opponent Legia Warsaw. Celtic advanced when the Polish champion was punished for fielding a suspended player. The Scottish side led in the sixth minute from a third goal in the competition by Callum McGregor, who seized on a loose ball after Jo Inge Bergets shot was saved. Maribor, seeking a first group-stage appearance for 15 years, levelled eight minutes with Damjan Bohars goal. Celtic would have retaken the lead but Stefan Johansen, standing on the goalline, inadvertently blocked teammate Virgil van Dijks header. After four straight wins in its national league, coach Andre Villas-Boas Zenit team also won in Belgium. Brazil forward Hulks pass across the penalty box set up Oleg Shatovs winning goal in the 16th minute. APOEL, a surprise quarterfinalist three seasons ago, made its first shot on target count in the 54th minute at Aalborg. Brazilian midfielder Vinicius finished a surging run into the penalty area with a rising shot into the net. The Danish champion Aalborg had dominated the first half and took the lead with Nicolaj Thomsens shot in the 16th from 15 metres (yards). BATE are well set to reach the group stage for the fourth time since 2008. It led with a 44th-minute own goal by Slovan defender Tomas Jablonsky. Vittek, whose four goals at the 2010 World Cup included two to eliminate defending champion Italy, came off the bench late to level the match with a left-foot shot from a tight angle. 17:22ET 20-08-14 Vita Vea Youth Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Steve Mason, Philadelphia (4) - Mason was brilliant all night long with save after big save on Benoit Pouliot, Carl Hagelin and Derick Brassard. Devin White Womens Jersey . -- Chris Crawford hit a 3-pointer with 1:36 left to put Memphis ahead to stay, and the 21st-ranked Tigers beat seventh-ranked Louisville 72-66 Saturday, sweeping the season series from the Cardinals. http://www.authenticbuccaneerspro.com/John-lynch-buccaneers-jersey/ .com) - The Carolina Hurricanes placed defenseman John-Michael Liles on injured reserve Tuesday.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Edmonton Oilers hope to prevent another losing streak from taking shape on Friday night as they take on the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center. The Oilers halted a nine-game slide with Tuesdays shootout victory over the Los Angeles Kings, but was bested 4-3 in overtime the following night by the Calgary Flames. Edmonton failed to hold a pair of leads and was denied the win when Calgarys Josh Jooris, coming out of the penalty box, finished off a 2- on-1 rush 1:08 into overtime with a goal. Jordan Eberle, Andrew Ference and Matt Fraser all lit the lamp for the Oilers, while Ben Scrivens allowed four goals on 28 shots in the loss. Edmonton fell to 2-14-7 in its last 23 games. Its somewhat frustrating, but I think we can take a couple things out of this game, Oilers coach Todd Nelson said. On the tail end of a back-to-back, thats a solid effort. Defenseman Keith Aulie will miss the next two games for the Oilers as he was handed a suspension for an illegal check to the head of Calgarys Matt Stajan, while forward Tyler Pitlick landed on injured reserve due to a lacerated spleen. Edmonton did recall center Anton Lander from the American Hockey League and forward Benoit Pouliot is in line to return tonight from an 18-game absence caused by a broken foot. He skated on a line wiith Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle on Thursday. Sean Bunting Jersey. . There also are continued reports that the Oilers are set to send rookie forward Leon Draisaitl to the Western Hockey League as early as Friday. He had two assists in the loss to the Flames and has totaled two goals and seven helpers in 37 games this season. The Avalanche eye a second straight win tonight after snapping a two-game slide with Wednesdays 4-3 overtime victory against the Philadelphia Flyers. Ryan OReilly had the winner with 19.9 seconds left on the clock as he snapped home a pass from defenseman Tyson Barrie. I wanted to win the draw and then get the puck back, said OReilly. It was a good pass from Tyson and I just wanted to get it on net. It was a great game tonight and this win is a team effort. Nate Guenin and Jarome Iginla scored and Borna Rendulic became the first Croatian-born player to score a goal in the NHL. Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves. Friday marks the first of three meetings this season between the Avs and Oilers. Colorado has won the past two encounters overall and four of the last six at home. Varlamov is 5-8-0 lifetime versus the Oilers with a 3.25 goals against average and .892 save percentage, while Scrivens is 0-1-1 when facing the Avs with a 2.45 GAA and .924 save percentage. ' ' '