Salzburg rue what might have been

Coming away from a UEFA Champions League third qualifying round opener against Fenerbahçe SK with a 1-1 draw might be seen as a positive start – but not by FC Salzburg.

Leading through Alan's 68th-minute strike, the Austrian Bundesliga side were within sight of a first-leg home victory only for Cristian to level on the night with a penalty five minutes into added time. Not surprisingly, Salzburg coach Roger Schmidt was left feeling more than slightly bereft. "Of course the result is disappointing because we were the better team and had the better chances by far," he said.

"Conceding in the last second is incredibly frustrating, but we saw that we can compete against a top side like them," added Schmidt, whose team looked to have the measure of last season's UEFA Europa League semi-finalists. "That gives us hope for the second leg. We deserved to be in a better position going into that game, but we'll give it our best in Istanbul."

"We put in a good performance and were 1-0 up until well after the 90th minute," added midfielder Stefan Ilsanker. "We created plenty of good chances so I think we deserved to win this game."

After converting from the spot what could be a priceless away goal, substitute Cristian was more perky in his post-match comments. "We knew it would be a tough game and we only seized control very late on," explained the Brazilian midfielder. "In the end we were rewarded for our fighting spirit. I'm confident we can put on a different display in the return leg."

Visiting coach Ersun Yanal doubtless had similarly optimistic thoughts, but was at pains to underline what a threat Salzburg can still pose. "I knew Salzburg were a very capable team and that they don't waste any time getting forward," said Yanal, hired to replace Aykut Kocaman in June. "They proved that they are a very good team."