No breakthrough in Bratislava

Goalless draw
Artmedia, surprise conquerors of 1967 European champions Celtic in the second qualifying round, produced another strong performance and also prevented Partizan from scoring an away goal that might have gone a long way towards deciding the tie.

Missed opportunities
The Slovakian champions started and finished well but the bulk of the chances fell to the visitors from Serbia and Montenegro who will be ruing several missed opportunities. The hosts, roared on by their supporters, began well and after six minutes Peter Petras headed over the bar from close range after a cross from Blažej Vaščák.

Partizan take control
Partizan then took control and Ivan Tomić shot wide from a good position after a corner landed at his feet on nine minutes. Tomić fired another fizzing shot just past the post and Partizan prodigy Simon Vukčević curled a 30-yard free-kick centimetres off target.

Glorious chance
The Belgrade team continued to spurn good openings, with Pierre Boya squandering one glorious opportunity when he had only Juraj Čobej to beat but was foiled by the Artmedia goalkeeper. Next it was the turn of Obiora Odita to fail to make the most of his sight of goal.

Second-half onslaught
The second half saw no let-up in the Partizan onslaught and Odita shot over the bar when well placed after 62 minutes. However, Artmedia themselves went close as Pavol Staňo headed over a corner from close range two minutes later.

Close calls
Odita nodded another chance wide for Partizan while Juraj Halenár, Ján Kozák and Vaščák all might have secured a vital advantage for Artmedia in the closing minutes. However, Vukčević too was guilty of missing the target during a hectic finale, leaving both sides to try their luck again in the Serbo-Montenegrin capital in a fortnight's time.