Last-gasp Cissé denies Swansea at the death
Thursday, October 24, 2013
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Swansea City AFC 1-1 FC Kuban Krasnodar
Djibril Cissé struck from the penalty spot in added time to deny the hosts maximum points at the halfway stage in Group A.
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Swansea City AFC's perfect record in UEFA Europa League Group A came to an end as Djibril Cissé's injury-time penalty earned FC Kuban Krasnodar their first point of the group stage.
Michu put Michael Laudrup's side ahead midway through the second period at that looked to be enough. But after Ibrahima Baldé was brought down by Swans' goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel, Cissé levelled from the spot three minutes into added time.
The visitors signalled their intent from the outset with Aleksei Kozlov blasting over the bar in the first minute. However, Swansea settled into the game and Michu set up Jonjo Shelvey after 21 minutes but he dragged his shot wide from ten metres. Kuban went close soon after when Arsen Khubulov raced clear but his low, driven cross was expertly cleared over the bar by Chico and neither side could break the deadlock before the interval.
Aleksandr Belenov barely had a save to make in the first hour but with Swansea dominating possession after the break it seemed only a matter of time until their pressure paid off. They opened the scoring, to the relief of the home support, when Michu darted onto a pass over the top from Álvaro Vázquez to bravely nudge the ball under Belenov for his fourth goal in Europe this season.
The hosts could have doubled their lead but Nathan Dyer and Àngel Rangel both shot straight at the Kuban keeper when well placed. They were made to pay when Baldé was floored by Tremmel and Cissé equalised with the last kick of the game.