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Europa joy for Stoke and Blues
FOOTBALL: Stoke and Birmingham both progressed to the Europa League group stages after winning their play-off ties in emphatic fashion. FA Cup runners-up Stoke defeated FC Thun 4-1 on the night and 5-1 on aggreagate with a brace from Kenwyne Jones and goals from Matthew Upson and Glenn Whelan. Carling Cup winners Birmingham, now in the Championship, won 3-0 at St Andrews against Portugal’s Nacional. Rangers, Celtic and Hearts went out, meaning there are no Scottish side in the group stages of either European competition this season.