Maes pulls the rug out from under Lyon

Femke Maes's equaliser after the break at Olympique Lyonnais took German newcomers FCR 2001 Duisburg a step closer to the UEFA Women's Cup final.

Commanding performance
Ingvild Stensland gave Lyon the lead midway through the first half of a tense semi-final first leg. But the French side were left to rue a string of missed chances as Maes's commanding performance was rewarded with what could prove to be a crucial goal ahead of the decisive leg on Sunday 5 April.

Missing stars
Shorn of Camille Abily, Sonia Bompastor and the injured Sandrine Dusang, and with Louisa Nécib not brought on until the second half due to a calf problem, Lyon's normally rampant attack lacked a little bite, as they were kept at baay by Kathrin Lehmann, the Swiss ice hockey and football international newly-signed by Duisburg. The visitors threatened early on with long-range strikes from Annemieke Kiesel and Alexandra Popp.

Free-kick opener
Lyon took the lead somewhat against the run of play on 23 minutes, with winter arrival Stensland making the two-strong Duisburg defensive wall look inadequate as she sent a free-kick into the top corner of Kathrin Lehmann's goal from the edge of the area. The 10,000 fans at the Stade de Gerland were relieved, but those sentiments were not to last.

Equaliser
Les Poupées – The Dolls – reverted to a counterattacking game, with Swedish striker Lotta Schelin missing two presentable chances before the break, but Duisburg dominated after the interval, showing none of the trepidation that marked their 3-0 home defeat against 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam in the league last weekend. Lyon goalkeeper Bente Nordby did well to foil Inka Grings from close range, while at the other end Elodie Thomis was denied in a one-on-one with Lehmann. That missed chance proved costly as, on 67 minutes, Popp's speculative overhead kick looped over central defender Laura Georges to allow Belgian international Maes to score from close range.

'We can still go through'
Mindful that a similar scoreline at home against Umeå IK at this stage of last season's competition proved costly, with his side bowing out on away goals following a goalless second-leg draw, coach Farid Benstiti pressed on. He even introduced an extra striker in the form of Lara Dickenmann, but although his team failed to conjure another goal, he has not given up hope of getting a result in Germany. "We have recovered from such positions before and we can do it again provided we are not caught by one of their counterattacks," he said. "We can still go through if we play well."

Duisburg reaction
Meanwhile, Duisburg coach Martina Voss said: "I have to praise the entire team today. We have shown that we are a good outfit and can match even this European top side." Grings added: "Maybe we were a little nervous at the beginning of the match. But then we had quickly realised that we have to play our own game. This is our strength."