IBRAHIMA BALDE’S STOPPAGE-time lob helped 10-man Kuban Krasnodar to another last-gasp 1-1 UEFA Europa League draw against Swansea City.
Kuban – who rescued a point in their Group A clash in Wales last month thanks to Djibril Cisse’s injury-time penalty – repeated the dose in Russia thanks to Balde’s composed finish.
Swansea seemed set for victory thanks to Wilfried Bony’s early strike, with Cisse missing a host of chances to level for the hosts and also seeing an effort ruled out for offside.
Brazilian defender Xandao was sent off with 15 minutes remaining, further harming Kuban’s hopes, but Balde reacted quickly to a flick from the influential Ivelin Popov in the second minute of stoppage time.
The Senegal international, who came off the bench in the 74th minute, calmly lobbed the ball over onrushing Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm as Michael Laudrup’s side were again denied in the dying stages.
Valencia’s subsequent victory over St Gallen means the Spanish side replace Swansea as group leaders, while Kuban are still bottom with two points.
Rubin Kazan secured their place in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League with a 1-0 win over Wigan Athletic.
Oleg Kuzmin’s strike after 22 minutes settled the match in the hosts’ favour as they moved five points clear at the top of Group D. Wigan travelled to Russia having secured a 1-1 draw in the last meeting between the two sides at the DW Stadium earlier in the month.
The Championship club knew they could take a big step towards qualification to the next stage with a win, but their hopes were dented as they produced a disappointing performance.
Rubin were in control for the majority of the game and deserved the three points as they seek to improve on last year’s showing in the competition, when they reached the quarter-finals.
