ROME, 29 January 2005 — Inter Milan are well placed to reach the semifinals of the Italian Cup after winning the first leg of their quarterfinal away to Serie A’s bottom club Atalanta on Thursday.

A dire contest on a frosty pitch in Bergamo was decided by Obafemi Martins’ superb strike 18 minutes from time.

The livewire Nigerian striker scored 11 minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute, turning his marker with a sublime flick off his heel before delicately clipping the ball past Alex Calderoni in the Atalanta goal.

Cagliari took an even bigger step towards the last four with a 2-0 home win over Sampdoria in the day’s early match.

Italy under-21 international Rolando Bianchi gave the Sardinians the lead in the fourth minute with an angled shot that squirmed past Sampdoria keeper Luigi Turci. Turci injured himself trying to keep out Bianchi’s effort and had to be substituted.

Honduran striker David Suazo doubled Cagliari’s advantage in the 24th minute, taking the ball on his chest before outpacing the Sampdoria defense and scoring with a fierce drive.

Betis Held to 2-2 Draw by Giant-Killers Gramenet in Cup

In Midfielder Marcos Assuncao spared Real Betis’ blushes when he scored a trademark free kick to earn his side a 2-2 draw away to third division Gramenet in a King’s Cup quarterfinal first leg match on Thursday.

The Brazilian curled a perfectly struck shot round the wall and inside the far post 15 minutes from time to give the Primera Liga side a slim advantage ahead of next week’s return leg.

In the week’s other quarterfinal ties city rivals Sevilla took a step towards the semis with a 2-1 victory at home to Osasuna on Wednesday, while 23-time Cup winners Athletic Bilbao came from a goal down to win 3-2 at home to second division Valladolid on Tuesday.

Wednesday’s tie between Primera Liga basement side Numancia and Atletico Madrid was postponed after sub-zero temperatures made the pitch in Soria unplayable. The game has been rescheduled for Feb. 2.

Visitors Betis put Gramenet under heavy pressure in the opening minutes at Santa Coloma and striker Fernando gave them the lead in the 16th minute after two sharp through passes from Brazilian midfielders Marcos Assuncao and Edu.

Gramenet keeper Antonio Morales did well to get his hand to the shot but it was not enough to prevent the ball spinning past him and creeping across the line. However, the third division side, who disposed of Barcelona and Levante in previous rounds, remained unintimidated by their opponents and played some slick passing football on their artificial pitch.

It was a stroke of luck, though, that helped put the Catalans back in the match midway through the half.

Betis defender Juanito lobbed the ball over keeper Pedro Contreras and into his own net after he tried to clear a harmless header in the area.

Buoyed by their equalizer and roared on by the 5,000 capacity crowd, Gramenet gained the upper hand and got the reward when taking the lead seven minutes into the second half.

Winning the ball in midfield, Moyano slipped a sharp pass to Dimas in the area and his shot ricocheted off a defender into the path of Oscar Olles who turned in at the far post. But free-kick expert Assuncao prevented an embarrassing defeat for the Andalucians when he netted his sweetly struck free kick 15 minutes from time.

German Ref Admits Match-Fixing, Apologizes

In Frankfurt, German referee Robert Hoyzer admitted on Thursday that he had fixed matches and offered to co-operate with the investigation into the country’s biggest football scandal in over 30 years.

“The allegations against me which have been raised in public are in essence true,” the 25-year-old Hoyzer said in a statement released by his lawyers.

“I deeply regret my behavior and apologize to the German Football Association (DFB), my refereeing colleagues and all football fans.”

Germany’s football community reacted to the confession with disgust, while Berlin prosecutors said they had received a complaint highlighting a suspected link with Croatian gamblers.