Marek Hamsik gave Napoli the Intertoto trophy by beating Panionios 2-0 on aggregate and will now join AC Milan in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup.

They go through to the UEFA Cup second qualifying round after 14 years away from this tournament.

Edy Reja’s men could boast a 1-0 lead from the first leg in Athens and the Stadio San Paolo welcomed 55,000 fans for this Intertoto Cup R3 tie. Leandro Rinaudo was suspended, so Matteo Contini and Grava joined Paolo Cannavaro in defence.

Napoli dominated the midfield in the first half, but couldn’t find the breakthrough as Marek Hamsik’s effort whistled wide and Mariano Bogliacino failed to convert Cannavaro’s assist.

There was a real scare on 28 minutes, as Lampros Choutos – a former Inter player – thumped the upright from point-blank range when he was quickest to react to a loose ball.

Kresic rushed out to close down Christian Maggio’s counter-attack and again to deny Bogliacino’s acrobatic attempt.

Bogliacino skimmed the woodwork from 20 metres, although Choutos was a constant danger. It was therefore quite a relief for the Napoli defenders when Choutos was stretchered off with a shoulder injury following an awkward fall.

Bogliacino, who had scored the winner in Athens, also went off with a suspected sprained ankle.

The San Paolo erupted on 64 minutes, as Hamsik grabbed a crucial goal to break the deadlock. Substitute Inacio Pia’s cross from the left was knocked down by German Denis for the Slovak to smash in from close range.

Denis made his San Paolo debut, yet is already a hero to the fans, who cheered his every move. The Argentine was hauled down before he could go clear on goal, while Pià and Michele Pazienza threatened a second.

Goalkeeper Gennaro Iezzo also got his fair share of the limelight late on with a crucial save on Kontis.

The Azzurri win 1-0 on the night, 2-0 on aggregate, to reach the UEFA Cup second qualifying round, which will be played on August 14 and 28.

There is another two-legged round after that on September 18 and October 2 in order to qualify for the group phase.

Napoli 1-0 Panionios (2-0 on agg)
Scorers: Hamsik 64 (N)
Napoli: Iezzo; Grava, Cannavaro, Contini; Maggio, Blasi, Gargano, Hamsik (Pazienza 75), Vitale; Bogliacino (Pià 58), Denis (De Zerbi 88)
Panionios: Kresic; Maniatis, Langkamp, Majstrovic, Koutsopoulos (Kapetanos 80); Tzavellas, Kumortzi, Nikolau, Kiliaras; Choutos (Dalura 55), D’Acol (Kontis 72)
Ref: Muniz Fernandez (Spa)

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