St-Etienne make amends in the UEFA Cup

European contrast
Fourth from bottom in the French top flight after a run of four straight defeats, European football has been a welcome distraction for the 1975/76 European Champion Clubs' Cup finalists, and they recovered from a shaky first half on Thursday to secure a fourth successive UEFA Cup win, with Ilan, Paulo Machado and Kevin Mirallas – with his first touch after coming off the bench – scoring.

'Serious effort'
Back in the UEFA Cup for the first time in 26 years, wins in their first two group stage games have left Les Verts five points clear at the top of Group F. "We are making a serious effort to advance and stay at the top level in Europe," Roussey explained. "We are happy but we must now try to recover before our next league game against [Stade Rennais FC]."

Unfamiliar lineup
"This win is a morale boost," added defender Yohan Benalouane. "We were eager to make amends [for the poor run of domestic results], both for us and for the fans." Roussey added of St-Etienne's sluggish first 45 minutes: "The first half was difficult because we changed the team. It took time for the players to feel comfortable. Once they did, we played better. Tonight, we were just efficient."

Hamrén frustrated
Rosenborg's Erik Hamrén could only agree. "It was a very, very strange game," the Swedish coach said. "I must say that we were better than our opponents and had seven or eight opportunities to score. They had four and scored three times. They were better then us in the box, the place were you win a game or lose it. I'm happy with the play we played but not with the result."