Stalemate hurts St Etienne's Euro hopes

PARIS (AFP) –

Saint-Etienne’s forward Pierre-Eme Aubameyang (R) clashes with Bordeaux’s defender Lamine Sane during their French L1 football match on May 3, 2013 at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium in Saint-Etienne. The match ended in a goalless draw.

Champions League hopefuls Saint-Etienne saw their bid for a place in Europe’s top club competition next season suffer a blow as they were held a to a goalless draw at home to Bordeaux on Friday.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed the hosts’ best chances as a resolute Cedric Carrasco kept Saint-Etienne at bay in a dour contest at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard as the Gabonese marksman failed to add to his season’s tally of 19 goals.

The result extended Saint-Etienne’s unbeaten run in Ligue 1 to 16 matches but the stalemate saw Christophe Galtier’s side stay a point behind arch rivals Lyon, who travel to Nancy on Sunday, in the race for the final Champions League spot, while a third straight draw enabled Bordeaux to move above Montpellier into eighth.

A cagey opening period saw Aubameyang fire a low strike that flashed narrowly wide of Cedric Carrasco’s far post, while the Bordeaux goalkeeper reacted well to keep out Romain Hamouma‘s angled shot before Henri Saivet’s miscued clearance sent the ball crashing against the frame of his own goal from the ensuing corner.

Joshua Guilavogui was thwarted by a flying save from Carrasco just after half-time, while Brandao sent a tame header straight at the visiting custodian.

Aubameyang was then again off target as he could only find the side netting from a tight angle when perhaps squaring to Brandao may have proved the better option with neither side ultimately able to find a breakthrough.

Second-place Marseille are in action at home to Bastia on Saturday, when anything but a victory for Elie Baup’s side would leave the door open for Paris Saint-Germain to secure their first Ligue 1 crown in 19 years should they beat visiting Valenciennes on Sunday.