NEC draw 0-0 at Olympiacos to boost Champions League hopes
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Add as a favourite source on Google Add DutchNews as a favourite source on GoogleNEC Nijmegen kept their hopes of a place in the Champions League alive with a 0-0 draw against Olympiacos in Greece.
The match was an even contest, with both teams notching up 10 chances over the 90 minutes.
The home side dominated the early exchanges, but Dick Schreuder’s side were stronger in the second half as Cape Verdean midfielder Jamiro Monteiro and Noé Lebreton went close for NEC.
Monteiro, newly signed from PEC Zwolle, replaced Japanese midfielder Kodai Sano, who was left out of the team at his own request pending his expected move to PSV Eindhoven for €14.5 million.
Former Ajax forward Dusan Tadic came on in the second half to make his debut for NEC at the age of 37, replacing the 35-year-old Bryan Linssen in the front line alongside the 38-year-old captain Tjaronn Chery.
It was NEC’s first taste of European football since a team coached by Mario Been lost 1-0 to HSV Hamburg in the UEFA Cup in 2009.
The two teams will play the return leg in Nijmegen’s Goffertstadion next Tuesday, August 11, with the winners going through to a play-off against either Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium or Norwegian side Bødo/Glimt for a place in the lucrative group stages.
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