Nancy hold Shakhtar to a 1-1 draw
Ukraine's reigning champions Shakhtar Donetsk recorded a 1-1 draw with French side Nancy in the UEFA Cup last 32, first leg.
Forward Marc-Antoine Fortune scored for Nancy, while Croatian midfielder Dario Srna was on target for the hosts.
"I'm really pleased with the result," Nancy coach Pablo Correa said after the match. "It's a great pleasure to score a goal in an away match. Now we will have the advantage to decide the winner at home.
"It was a tough match as Shakhtar are serious opponents, who were playing in the Champions League. We were lucky to keep a clean sheet in the first half, when Shakhtar had several clear chances to score."
Nancy looked more confident from the start, while the hosts, who have a lack of match practice because of a winter break in the domestic league, looked rusty.
Pascal Berenguer had a chance for an opening goal just five minutes into the match but his well-struck freekick was parred by the hosts goalkeeper Bohdan Shust.
Shakhtar soon seized the initiative and began threatening the visitors' net, keeping Nancy's defence on their toes and forcing their keeper Damien Gregorini to produce several saves before the break.
After the interval Shakhtar upped the tempo and added power to their attacks, pinning Nancy back.
Fortune lifted Nancy 1-0 up after sending the ball home past helpless Shust from a short cross by Emmanuel Duchemin, who rushed into Shakhtar's box with nine minutes remaining.
Shakhtar replied positively and pulled the scores level just four minutes later through Srna, who fired home from just inside the box from Anatoly Tymoshchuk's precise pass.
"We dominated the playing and should win the match at least with a two-goal advantage," Shakhtar manager Mircea Lucescu said. "However, Nancy were very good, organised and played tactically correct."
"They managed to convert their best chance into goal, while we have missed a handful of clear chances and scored only once."
AFP
