Trabzonspor held by 10-man CSKA Moscow
Reuters - Wednesday 02 November 2011, 22:44
Trabzonspor were held to a 0-0 draw by
CSKA Moscow in their Champions League Group B fixture on
Wednesday, failing to capitalise on Seydou Doumbia's sending off
and leaving both sides with work to do to advance in the
competition.
Doumbia, who scored twice in the match between the two sides
in Moscow, again left his mark on the match by being sent off
after receiving a second yellow card for a foul on his Ivorian
compatriot Didier Zokora in the 74th minute.
The CSKA striker had been at the heart of the action,
creating a couple of chances at either end of the first half.
In the second minute, a shot from Doumbia was cleared off
the goal-line by home defender Giray Kacar. He went close again
at the end of the half, but keeper Tolga Zengin's knee kept his
shot out after the forward had been clean on goal.
The result left both clubs on five points, with
second-placed CSKA Moscow ahead on head-to-head and Inter Milan
top with two games to go after their win over bottom side Lille.
Burak Yilmaz, Trabzonspor's top scorer in the Turkish
league, was the greatest threat for the home side but was
repeatedly caught offside. He engineered a chance in the 31st
minute, holding off a defender and turning to fire in a shot but
missed the target.
Zokora said Trabzonspor, who won at 2010 winners Inter in
their opening game, had surprised many people.
"I think we have a good chance of going through. Trabzon is
taking part in the competition for the first time and not many
would have expected us to have five points after four games,"
Zokora told reporters.
"We have started to defend better and it is important that
we didn't concede any goals."
With half an hour remaining, Trabzonspor brought on
Alanzinho and Paulo Henrique to refresh the side's attacking
options.
The change nearly yielded dividends in the 67th minute when
Alanzinho made a strong run down the left and fired in a shot,
which Vladimir Gabulov saved.
CSKA remained a threat after Doumbia's sending off, forcing
two saves out of the home goalkeeper.
A late attacking flurry from Trabzon in the final minutes
gave the home fans hope, but a header from Ondrej Celustka
rebounded off the post to frustrate the Black Sea side and
enabled the visitors to hang on for a point.
Trabzonspor next host Inter on November 22 when CSKA welcome
Lille.