az alkmaar 2-2 fc slovan liberec the dutch hosts booked their passage after twice coming from behind to leave liberec on tenterhooks.
az alkmaar booked their place in the uefa cup round of 32 after twice coming from behind to draw with an fc slovan liberec side who must wait a fortnight to see if four points will be sufficient to advance alongside the dutch club.
petr papoušek's late goal looked to have claimed the spoils which would have sealed the czech champions' qualification, but julian jenner's last-minute strike cancelled out his effort just as team-mate grétar steinsson (69) had done following tomáš zápotočný's 26th-minute opener. az and holders sevilla fc will now compete for section supremacy on 14 december, when liberec must hope point-less grasshopper-club hold sc braga to at least a draw in portugal.
surprise lead the match began at a slow pace as both teams failed to produce a meaningful attack until midway through the first half when jan blažek's right-footed attempt was beaten away by az goalkeeper khalid sinouh. danny koevermans headed over for the home side from a stijn schaars corner and winston parks was denied by sinouh before the visitors took a surprise lead through zápotočný - the defender rising unmarked near the penalty spot to nod in daniel pudil's right-wing corner.
headed equaliser moussa dembélé looked to hit back instantly for az, but saw his shot easily saved by liberec keeper marek Čech shortly after firing a similar effort the wrong side of the upright. az did draw level with 21 minutes left as steinsson scored with a header from the edge of the area. pavel koštál then went close to restoring liberec's advantage before papoušek did just that with a neat finish from outside the box. the drama was not over, though, and liberec were denied a passage into the knockout rounds in the 89th minute when substitute jenner connected perfectly with a pinpoint maarten martens pass to make it 2-2.
