Saint-Etienne will be pleased to have beaten Israeli outfit Hapoel Tel-Aviv away from home, though there is still hard work to be done at home. The lead is slender, at 1-2, but the French outfit did deserve to win the game. Sainte went into the lead after just seven minutes when Dimitri Payet was on hand to sprint in on goal, before rifling home an angled shot. The visitors continued to press in the first half though the second half was a little more open. Pascal Feindouno grabbed the second goal of the game with a simple tap in, on the hour mark. The Israelis have some hope for the second leg though, after Mehran Lolo converted from a corner.

Hosts Hapoel had a strong side to field for this tie, in which they were hopeful. Going into this game, Saint-Etienne were taking things seriously - it may only be the UEFA Cup, but the European-success-starved club rested key players in the league game prior to this showdown, with the bunch returning here. Bayal Sall was banned for the visitors whilst Kevin Mirallas and Seb Graz were injured. The game started as expected too, with les Verts grabbing an early lead - neat wing-play allowed for Payet to fire home simply, just seven minutes in. The rest of the first half was one-way traffic, as the Frenchman looked to increase their lead. Feindouno and Geoffrey Denris were causing havoc, but they were unable to give their side an increased edge, going into the interval.

There was more of the same after the break, however. Les Verts continued to press but, this time, they got the reward their attacking play had deserved - Hapoel’s defence were caught stranded by a pacy move from Sainte, with Feindouno tapping home after a square ball from the right-wing. That goal came after an hour of action, which made it all the more surprising to see Saint-Etienne sit back  in doing so, they allowed the hosts a few good chances to get back into the tie. Samuel Yeboah looked lively and saw a few decent efforts thwarted, though the Red Demons did look increasingly dangerous with a quarter hour left on the clock - Yeboah saw a goal chalked off for offside late on, too. Lolo’s finish at the death, following a set-piece, offers a shred of hope for Hapoel, as they travel to France.

It will be difficult for the Israelis to salvage a place in the group stages from this, though - really, they had to avoid defeat in this game. Instead, they must travel to Saint-Etienne’s cauldron - the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard - needing to net at least twice: a mean feat. The French side, though, will be satisfied with their efforts - it’s a healthy lead to take back to a partisan, success-starved crowd.