Duguépéroux savours late rally

Thursday 15 December, 2005

A late comeback from Strasbourg against Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday had the Ligue 1 strugglers' Coach Jacky Duguépéroux purring.

Trailing 2-0 until the 79th minute, the Alsace outfit earned an unlikely draw thanks to a Kevin Gameiro brace in the closing stages that guaranteed them top spot in UEFA Cup Group E above Roma.

"I'm proud of the way in which this match went," explained Duguépéroux, whose charges also picked up their first League win of the season against Nancy last weekend.

"We were losing against the run of play, but our youngsters showed they've got character and it was all very positive in terms of our mental strength.

"If we can keep these young players, there could be some very good years ahead of us here. With the more senior guys around them, they make an excellent team.

"I'm savouring this. It's good news for the club to finish first in the group ahead of some very prestigious opponents."