Aberdeen 0 Dnipro 0: Kernozenko's heroics frustrate Aberdeen

Two great saves denied Aberdeen victory in the opening leg of their Uefa Cup meeting with Dnipro at Pittodrie last night. Andrew Considine and Chris Clark saw shots saved by Vyacheslav Kernozenko early in either half of the first-round clash. The Ukrainian side had their moments, mostly from long range, and the Dons failed to capitalise on a period of sustained pressure after the interval.

Aberdeen – making their first appearance in Europe for five years – almost took the lead after just four minutes. Jamie Smith headed down Scott Severin's free-kick and Considine's close-range strike was brilliantly beaten away by Kernozenko.

Considine saved the Dons with a brilliant penalty-box challenge on Samodin after Kostyantyn Kravchenko had lifted a superb ball over the top. And the visitors came close when Nazarenko curled inches over from 20 yards after a counter-attack down the right.

Chris Clark came close to breaking the deadlock with a brilliant piece of play that was matched by Kernozenko's save. The left midfielder cut inside two defenders and curled a 20-yard shot towards the far corner, but the Dnipro goalkeeper pushed his effort onto the post.