Fedetskiy takes Dnipro through

• Dnipro go from last to second in Group F by defeating St-Étienne
• Artem Fedetskiy scores only goal in Kyiv (66)
• Dnipro's first home win of this season's group stage
• St-Étienne suffer first defeat after five draws but still finish bottom
• Round of 32 draw takes place in Nyon at 13.00CET on 15 December

Artem Fedetskiy's second-half goal took FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk into the UEFA Europa League round of 32 at the expense of AS Saint-Étienne as the Ukrainian side earned a narrow but crucial victory at the NSK Olimpiyskyi Stadium in Kyiv.

Needing a win to have any hope of pipping their opponents and Qarabağ FK to second place in Group F behind FC Internazionale Milano, Dnipro began positively and chased an early opener. Barely 60 seconds had elapsed, in fact, when Yevhen Shakhov pulled a volley across the St-Étienne goalmouth.

That set the tone for a first half in which the hosts did the majority of the pressing, although they found their French visitors hard to break down. Indeed, Stéphane Ruffier had only one save of note to make in the first 45 minutes, beating aside Serhiy Kravchenko's fierce shot after Roman Zozulya's lay-off.

With Dnipro committed to attack, gaps began to appear in the home rearguard, with St-Étienne breaking swiftly following a corner and Max-Alain Gradel able to burst clear, only to lash over. Seconds later, Kévin Monnet-Paquet was denied by goalline clearances from Fedetskiy and Douglas.

In the 66th minute, that proved crucial. Ruslan Rotan's fine curling free-kick struck the left-hand post, but Loïc Perrin could only divert the ball for Fedetskiy to fire high into the net from close range. Nikola Kalinić then set up Rotan, but the Dnipro captain directed his shot past the post before Bruno Gama hit the woodwork as the home team attempted to make the points safe.

Now it was their visitors who needed to attack, yet again it was Dnipro who came closest to another breakthrough. Matheus failed to apply the finishing touch in front of goal and Bruno Gama struck the woodwork again – but Dnipro had the win they required, and Qarabağ's draw with Inter had them celebrating.