Koke flattens St Etienne
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Article summary
AS Saint-Etienne were denied a first win by Koke's late leveller for Olympique de Marseille.
Article body
By Chris Burke
A stoppage-time Koke equaliser for Olympique de Marseille denied AS Saint-Etienne their first win at the Stade Vélodrome since the 1979/80 season as Sunday's encounter between the two most successful teams in Ligue 1 history ended 1-1.
Feindouno lob
In days gone by, this fixture would have been played at the top of the table, but with the target for St Etienne this year being top-flight survival, Pascal Feindouno's goal on 16 minutes seemed priceless. Collecting a long pass from Frédéric Piquionne, Feindouno cleverly lobbed Fabien Barthez and Les Verts were on course for all three points.
Marseille fifth
Marseille refused to give up, though, and finally found a way through St Etienne's defence when Démétrius Ferreira crossed into the box for Spanish midfield player Koke to fire in, earning his side a share of the spoils. Marseille stay fifth on 17 points, while Elie Baup's team crawl out of the relegation zone on goals scored ahead of AC Ajaccio.