LONDON, Aug 13: Ajax Amsterdam needed a late equaliser by Wesley Sneijder to earn a 1-1 draw at Austria’s Graz AK on Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League third qualifying round match.

There were no such problems for Celta Vigo on their Champions League debut as they beat Slavia Prague 3-0 while in the “Dynamo derby”, Dynamo Kiev built a 3-1 advantage over Dinamo Zagreb.

Ajax, four-times European champions winners and quarter-finalists last season, found it hard going against Austrian runners-up Graz, who had much the better of a goalless first half.

Ajax worked their way back into the game after the break but fell behind in the 56th minute when Emanuel Pogatetz met a Matthias Dollinger corner with a powerful header.

The equaliser came 11 minutes from time when Sneijder curled in a free kick.

Ajax coach Ronald Koeman was confident that his team will have found their rhythm by the return in two weeks.

Newcomers Celta Vigo went ahead after 18 minutes with a powerful free kick by Russian international Alexander Mostovoi and fellow midfielder Jesuli got the second with a spectacular 25-metre piledriver five minutes into the second half.

Brazilian forward Edu wrapped up an entertaining win six minutes later when he cracked home from close range after Slavia keeper Radek Cerny had failed to hold a rasping shot from Jose Ignacio.

It was an encouraging result for Celta, who finished fourth in the Spanish League last season, and they will be confident of joining their big-name compatriots in the group stage.

In Kiev a Serhiy Fyodorov header after 33 minutes and a Jerko Leko shot in the 39th had the Ukrainians two-up before Nico Kranjcar pulled one back just before halftime for Zagreb.

Oleh Gusev struck the important third eight minutes from time after Maxim Shatskikh’s header had been blocked by Zagreb keeper Mario Jozic.

The remaining 13 ties were to take place on Wednesday.

Results: