Motherwell 0 - 2 (3) AS Nancy: Full Time

Motherwell's first European match at Fir Park for 13 years turned into a huge anti-climax as Nancy scored twice inside the opening quarter to end their UEFA Cup hopes.

Marc-Antoine Fortune followed up Benjamin Gavonon's free-kick in the 18th minute and the same free-kick taker's cross soon found the net to leave Motherwell needing four goals.

Other than a decent spell just after the break, they rarely looked like getting one as they succumbed to a 3-0 aggregate first-round defeat.
Motherwell manager Mark McGhee sprang a surprise by leaving out in-form teenager Jamie Murphy and employing an unfamiliar 3-5-2 formation.

Chris Porter, Stephen Craigan and Stephen Hughes all returned after being unavailable for Saturday's 2-1 win over St Mirren, with Marc Fitzpatrick and John Sutton joining Murphy on the bench.

McGhee perhaps wanted Murphy's pace to trouble Nancy if they tired in the latter stages – but he ended up throwing him on just after the half-hour mark in a move of desperation.

The Motherwell boss admitted his 4-5-1 system made life difficult for his players in the first leg, when only a Graeme Smith penalty save kept their hopes alive.

He had raised the temperature by accusing Nancy counterpart Pablo Correa of treating Motherwell with contempt in France and vowing to "kick their teeth in" – but the visitors were soon smiling.

Fir Park housed its largest home support for decades but almost 12,000 fans only experienced a couple of moments of real anticipation before the French side ruined the atmosphere.

The first came when Porter won a free-kick 25 yards out but Bob Malcolm curled it wide. Then David Clarkson's header was cleared away from the goalmouth after Stevie Hammell crossed from the left amid a promising break.

Nancy had Joel Sami carried off on a stretcher seconds later and Well might have had free-kicks for a foul and handball after the ensuing corner was punched away by Gennaro Bracigliano.

But Paul Quinn soon conceded a costly free-kick on the edge of his box when he pushed Monsef Zerka. Gavonon's curling shot was palmed away by Smith but Fortune tucked home the rebound.

And Gavonon killed off the tie five minutes later when his free-kick from wide on the left bypassed a crowded penalty box and curled into the far corner.

In between, Abdesalam Oaddou had replaced Sami in the Nancy back four, who coped easily with Well's immediate attempts to hit back.
Porter headed well wide from Quinn's cross and a looping first-time effort from Hughes dropped harmlessly into Bracigliano's arms.
Murphy then replaced holding midfielder Malcolm but Well could only threaten once more in the half when Porter's glancing volley from Hammell's cross just cleared the far post in the final minute.

More than 135 minutes of the tie had passed before Bracigliano made his first serious save, but his scramble to push the ball wide only came about when Steven McGarry's cross deflected off a defender.

The visitors had a good chance seconds later when Zerka shot over after Youssouf Hadji found him in space 20 yards out.

Motherwell, now playing a 4-4-2 system, finally began to string some passes together and a 25-yard strike by Hughes just cleared the bar.
They were using the width of the park to peg back the French side and Bracigliano unconvincingly scooped away Murphy's driven free-kick from 20 yards.

Striker Sutton replaced midfielder Keith Lasley in the 64th minute as Well moved to their usual 4-3-3 formation for the first time in the tie.
But Alfred N'Diaye almost exposed them moments later when he ran through the heart of the Motherwell team and drove just wide from 20 yards.

Nancy were now looking more likely to score but McGhee had to gamble further and brought on winger Darren Smith for centre-back Craigan.
However, Well's attacking players struggled to get the ball and Zerka missed an injury-time sitter as Motherwell's disappointing European campaign limped to a finish.

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FT update

Motherwell's first European match at Fir Park for 13 years turned into a huge anti-climax as Nancy scored twice inside the opening quarter to end the home side's UEFA Cup campaign.


Marc-Antoine Fortune followed up Benjamin Gavonon's free-kick to score in the 18th minute, and the same free-kick taker's intended cross found the net five minutes later to leave Motherwell needing four goals.

Nancy were now looking more likely to score but McGhee had to gamble further and brought on winger Darren Smith for centre-back Craigan.

However, the home side's attacking players struggled to get the ball and Zerka missed an injury-time sitter as Motherwell's disappointing European campaign limped to a finish.

Other than a decent spell just after the break, they rarely looked like getting one as they succumbed to a 3-0 aggregate first-round defeat.

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Bracigliano made his first serious save of the two legs just after the restart, but his scramble to push the ball wide only came about when Steven McGarry's cross deflected off a Nancy defender.

The visitors had a good chance seconds later when Zerka shot over after Hadji had found him in space 20 yards out.

Motherwell, now playing a 4-4-2 system, finally began to string some passes moves together and a 25-yard strike by Hughes just cleared the bar.

They were using the width of the park to help peg back the French side and Bracigliano unconvincingly scooped away Murphy's driven free-kick from 20 yards.

Striker Sutton replaced midfielder Keith Lasley in the 64th minute as Well moved to their usual 4-3-3 formation for the first time in the tie.
But Alfred N'Diaye almost exposed them moments later when he ran through the heart of the Motherwell team and drove just wide from 20 yards.


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Motherwell's first European match at Fir Park for 13 years turned into a huge anti-climax as Nancy scored twice inside the opening quarter to leave the hosts needing four goals to reach the group stages of the UEFA Cup.

Marc-Antoine Fortune followed up Benjamin Gavonon's saved free-kick in the 18th minute and the same free-kick taker's cross evaded everyone to find the corner of the net five minutes later.
The hosts had a David Clarkson header cleared from the goalmouth beforehand but they failed to offer a response before the break.

In between Abdeslam Ouaddou had replaced Sami in the Nancy back-four, who saw out the half without trouble.

All Motherwell could muster was an off-target Porter header from Quinn's cross and a looping first-time effort shot from Hughes that dropped harmlessly into the arms of Bracigliano.

McGhee realised he needed to take a gamble and brought on Murphy for holding midfielder Malcolm in the 32nd minute. Hughes moved inside to accommodate Murphy wide right.

Porter had a half-chance in the final minute but his glancing volley from Hammell's cross just cleared the far post.

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McGhee had raised the temperature by accusing Correa of treating Motherwell with contempt in France, while Fir Park housed its largest home support for decades.

The Motherwell manager sprang another surprise by employing a 3-5-2 formation with Paul Quinn tucking in beside Craigan and Mark Reynolds at the back.

After a tense opening, 'Well got their first chance to excite their fans when Porter won a free-kick 25-yards out, but Bob Malcolm curled it wide.

The home side broke well in the 13th minute and Stevie Hammell's cross was met at the back post by David Clarkson, whose header bounced down and was headed away from the line.

Nancy had Joel Sami taken off on a stretcher seconds later and Motherwell might have had free-kicks for a foul and handball after the ensuing corner was punched away by Gennaro Bracigliano.

But they soon conceded a costly free-kick on the edge of their box when Quinn was adjudged to have pulled Monsef Zerka in the 18th minute.
Benjamin Gavonon's curling shot was palmed away by Graeme Smith but Marc-Antoine Fortune tucked home the rebound to leave Motherwell needing three goals.

And Gavonon virtually killed off the tie five minutes later when his free-kick from wide left bypassed a crowded penalty box and curled into the far corner.



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Motherwell manager Mark McGhee dropped in-form teenager Jamie Murphy to the bench as he made three changes for the UEFA Cup first-round decider against Nancy at Fir Park.

McGhee had vowed to start Murphy in the second leg but the striker dropped out from the team which beat St Mirren 2-1 on Saturday, along with John Sutton and Marc Fitzpatrick.

Chris Porter returned from suspension while Stephen Craigan and Stephen Hughes were back following injury as Well attempted to overturn a 1-0 deficit.

Nancy boss Pablo Correa included Morocco midfielder Youssouf Hadji, who was injured for the first leg, while the goalscorer in France, Pascal Berenguer, was on the bench.

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Motherwell face one of the biggest tests in their history tonight as they bid to overcome French outfit Nancy in the Uefa Cup.

Check back again for first half, half time and full time updates

TEAMS

Motherwell: Graeme Smith, Quinn, Craigan, Reynolds, Hammell, Lasley, Malcolm, Hughes, McGarry, Porter, Clarkson. Subs: Nielsen, Sutton, Darren Smith, Murphy, Fitzpatrick, O'Brien, Connolly.

AS Nancy: Bracigliano, Chretien, Andre Luiz, Sami, Brison, Macaluso, N'Diaye, Hadji, Gavanon, Fortune, Zerka. Subs: Gregorini, Helder, Berenguer, Biancalani, Dia, N'Guemo, Ouaddou. Referee: Espen Berntsen (Norway)