Goals dry up for Auxerre

By Chris Burke

AJ Auxerre missed the chance to go third in Ligue 1 with a 0-0 draw at home against FC Girondins de Bordeaux.

Chamakh header
The Burgundy club put five past KS Amica Wronki in the UEFA Cup in midweek, and also scored five here against Bordeaux last season, but it was the visitors who started brightest and nearly opened the scoring when Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh headed centimetres wide after 33 minutes. Auxerre took time getting to grips with their opponents' five-man midfield and only began posing a threat in the last 20 minutes, with Thursday's hat-trick hero Luigi Pieroni striking the post after being expertly played in by Kanga Akalé.

Pieroni effort
Pieroni went close again soon afterwards, and it needed an alert Ulrich Ramé to turn his effort around the post before, at the other end, Jean-Claude Darcheville almost won it for Michel Pavon's side when he shot wide in the dying moments. With just one win in their last seven league games, Auxerre remain a distant eleven points behind leaders Olympique Lyonnais in fifth place, two spots ahead of Bordeaux.