Rueters
Thursday, October 26, 2000; 6:13 PM

BARCELONA, Oct 26 – Raul Tamudo made a goalscoring return for Espanyol on Thursday as he set the Spanish side on their way to a commanding 4-0 win over Grazer AK of Austria in their UEFA Cup second round first leg match.

Tamudo, whose proposed transfer to Rangers was put on hold after the Scottish club said he was still carrying an injury, was making his first appearance after being passed fit and struck after 15 minutes of a one-sided contest.

Constanin Galca made it 2-0 for the Spanish side with a penalty after 20 minutes after Mauricio Pochettino was brought down in the area by Eric Akoto.

The Grazer defender was red-carded six minutes later for a second rash challenge and thereafter Espanyol played at a canter.

Sergio added two goals before the half was out and Espanyol's lead was never threatened after the break by a disappointing Austrian side.

The opening goal was started and finished by Tamudo, who played in Spain's Olympic silver medal-winning team, and he says he is now determined to forget about the move to Glasgow and finish the season in Spain.

As the home side cleared from just outside their own area, he swept a pass out wide to Toni Velamazan on the right.

Velamazan in turn threaded a pass through to Martin Posse, who put in a shot from the edge of the box that Grazer keeper Andreas Schranz could only beat away.

Tamudo gratefully smashed the ball home and punched the air with delight.

After the penalty from Galca, Sergio, another talented young Spanish striker, weighed in with two well-taken goals.

The first was a low shot from the edge of the box after Graz failed to clear another corner.

The second, which came just seconds before halftime, saw him finish off the best move of the game, a first-time finish from the left of the area after Velamazan had flicked the ball through to him.

Tamudo was substituted with half an hour to go and was rewarded with a standing ovation from the home fans.