Lokomotiv stand firm to share points

FC Lokomotiv Moskva held firm with ten men to claim a creditable point from their UEFA Cup Group B tie at US Città di Palermo.

Late dismissal
Neither side could make the breakthrough but Palermo will feel they missed an opportunity after the visitors had Dmitri Khokhlov dismissed late on. Khokhlov was sent off after fouling substitute Simone Barone but Lokomotiv held on without alarm through the closing stages.

Early chances
Lokomotiv's André Stéphane Bikey had the first chance of the game when he shot wide from 12 metres but Palermo also showed some attacking intent. Paul Codrea tried his luck from a free-kick but struck the ball into the wall while Andrea Caracciolo twice shot wide.

Andujar save
Salvatore Masiello and Simone Pepe also sensed opportunities to open the scoring for the Italian side but neither could fashion a shot on target. The first goalkeeper to be tested was Palermo's Mariano Andujar after 40 minutes when he had to deal with a Marat Izmailov shot.

Palermo pressure
Palermo looked to increase the tempo early in the second half as Pepe shot over from 12 metres soon after the restart. Fabio Grosso forced a save from Sergei Ovchinnikov, while Masiello and Stephen Makinwa both had attempts blocked.

Lokomotiv rally
Lokomotiv then had a rare sight of goal through Vladimir Maminov, who had a shot blocked by Cristian Terlizzi, but as time wore on the visitors looked just as likely to break the deadlock.

Terlizzi chance
Izmailov and Malkhaz Asatiani both failed to hit the target and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov tested Andujdar as the visitors rallied midway through the second half. Terlizzi could have given the home side the lead in the 69th minute but headed over from a Codrea corner.

Firm rearguard
Lokomotiv may have feared the worst when Khokhlov was shown a red card with ten minutes remaining but Palermo were unable to prise open their defence.