Colman saves Trabzonspor from Lille loss

A second-half penalty from Gustavo Colman earned Trabzonspor AŞ a point against LOSC Lille Métropole which keeps the debutants on top of UEFA Champions League Group B.

Moussa Sow's clinical finish through the legs of goalkeeper Tolga Zengin gave the visitors, who surrendered a two-goal lead on matchday one at home to PFC CSKA Moskva, the advantage at the end of a tight first half. Colman, however, levelled with a quarter of an hour remaining, firing high past Mickaël Landreau from the spot after Mathieu Debuchy had blocked Adrian Mierzejewski's cross with his right hand.

Trabzonspor kicked off amid a cacophony of noise hoping to build on their surprise 1-0 win at FC Internazionale Milano a fortnight ago, but with a caution which was also prevalent in Lille's early play. Nicknamed the Black Sea Storm, Trabzonspor did little to live up to that moniker as their early advances posed few problems for the visitors.

It was not until the 20th minute that Şenol Güneş's side had their first effort but even then it did little to placate the frustrated home support, Didier Zokora shooting wide. Lille, meanwhile, were coping well on a heavy pitch, Joe Cole, Eden Hazard and Sow often breaking ahead of play and giving the Trabzonspor defence plenty of food for thought.

It was an approach which bore fruit on the half-hour mark when Hazard threaded a pass through to Sow, who neatly beat the diving Tolga for his second goal in as many European games. The same players combined again three minutes later, Sow arriving a split-second too late to meet Hazard's inviting cross.

The crowd's spirits were lifted five minutes into the second half when Serkan Balcı, set up by Halil Altıntop, shot wide. Lille immediately responded as they sought to wrap up the points, Sow, Cole and the impressive Florent Balmont, who flicked a corner from Hazard aganst the angle of post and crossbar, coming close to a clinching second.

It was Trabzonspor who had the last word, though, with Colman's penalty restricting Lille to a fifth successive draw in all competitions and ensuring the Turkish club's impressive start to their debut campaign at this level continues.