Ten-man Twente hold Sporting Lisbon

A ten-man FC Twente held Sporting Lisbon to a goalless draw in the third preliminary round of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

The Dutch runners-up showed a decent display in the opening phase but then suffered a major setback as keeper Sander Boschker fouled Helder Postiga with a red card and a penalty as result.

Boschker’s replacement, Nikolay Mihaylov then became the hero though, parrying the spotkick taken by Joao Moutinho.

Despite being a man down, Twente created the better chances after the break with Sporting only able to deliver shots from outside the penalty area. Twente almost scored a winning goal in added time, but Blaise N’Kufo failed to take advantage of the opportunity.

The two sides meet again in the Dutch town of Enschede on August 4.