TIRANA, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Albanian side Partizani lost 1-0 to the visiting Moldovan team Sheriff Tiraspol here on Thursday in the first leg of the second qualifying round of UEFA Europa League.
Partizani led by the Italian coach Franko Lerda played a disappointing match, almost without challenging Moldovan goalkeeper Zvonimir Nikulic.
The Reds, as the Partizani team is called by the locals, conceded the goal in the 24th minute. They are with one foot out of Europa League.
Sheriff Tiraspol had an ideal chance in the 10th minute when the player from Burkina Faso Wilfried Balima had a nice start on the right, then passed the ball to the Ukrainian midfielder Artem Hordlyenko, who shot out of the gate of the Albanian goalkeeper Alban Hoxha.
In the 24th minute, Sheriff Tiraspol scored the winner with forward Robert Ndip Tambe from Cameroon. The Partizani goalkeeper Hoxha, punched a strong shot coming from the left side, but the ball remained inside the goal area and Tambe found it easier to score with an empty gate.
In the 38th minute the midfielder Eraldo Cinari wanted to catch the Moldovan goalkeeper Nikulic with a powerful long shot from 30 meters distance, but the ball flew over the crossbar.
The three substitutions made by Partizani's coach Lerda through the whole match changed neither Partizani's pace nor the course of the match.
Today's match was Partizan's third match in Europe, where the Reds have not yet managed to score even a single goal.
Partizani was eliminated from the Champions League after the draw 0-0 at home and the 2-0 loss to the Azeri team of Qarabag in Baku. Enditem
