NEC forget to reward themselves with goalless draw in Champions League debut

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nijmegen/nRluRF0T/"]NEC[/a] were down a crucial player after midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sano-kodai/vBwiuxMd/"]Kodai Sano[/a] told manager Dick Schreuder he [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/news/soccer-eredivisie-nec-star-kodai-sano-set-to-join-psv-refuses-to-play-in-champions-league-match/SKwYk3Wa/"]wouldn't play the first leg[/a] against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/olympiacos-piraeus/hnzvnHPS/"]Olympiacos[/a], with the Japanese star set to move to Eredivisie champions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/psv/M9UEHJWi/"]PSV[/a]. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cape-verde/MocyWdm7/"]Cape Verde[/a] international [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/monteiro-jamiro/QXkjtqYd/"]Jamiro Monteiro[/a] took his place in midfield, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/linssen-brian/hxOWVXZo/"]Bryan Linssen[/a] started as the lone striker. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tadic-dusan/Ic4oPYSF/"]Dusan Tadic[/a] started on the bench for NEC, as well as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mor-emre/Kd02fMXo/"]Emre Mor[/a].[/p][p]The two sides exchanged pinpricks in the opening 45, with Olympiacos testing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alejandro-gonzalo/Moj39S61/"]Gonzalo Crettas[/a] through [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/carmo-david/4ANgblVo/"]David Carmo[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mouzakitis-christos/OfV1f17U/"]Christos Mouzakitis[/a], and NEC edging closer to a goal via [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ouaissa-sami/UsLzacGG/"]Sami Ouaissa[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lebreton-noe/nTSAxkMK/"]Noe Lebreton[/a].[/p][embed guid="9fe087b3-dfe5-42a3-958e-8bfd6994cc35" url="https://x.com/necnijmegen/status/2084723395082453337?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]It was all NEC to start the second half, with the debutants from Nijmegen piling chance upon chance in the opening 15 minutes. Ouaissa and Monteiro came especially close, but failed to score NEC's maiden UEFA Champions League goal within the hour.[/p][p]The up-and-down rollercoaster saw NEC, now with Tadic and Mor on the pitch, put pressure on Olympiacos, but the latter got all the minor chances. NEC outdid the Greek hosts in eagerness and threat, but could not reward themselves for a promising outing.[/p][p]A goalless draw was all Olympiacos and NEC yielded from Tuesday's matchup, giving NEC a slight edge as the UEFA Champions League travels to De Goffert for the first time ever on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/nijmegen-nRluRF0T/olympiacos-piraeus-hnzvnHPS/?mid=8G3qc5S6"]Tuesday, August 11th[/a].[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/nijmegen-nRluRF0T/olympiacos-piraeus-hnzvnHPS/?mid=z35yaRcf"]Check the full match statistics on Flashscore[/a][/b][/p][image alt="Key match stats" id="b62c524f-f0c2-4fe8-89c5-acf165886f9b" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="81e4465a-cba3-4ca8-aa3c-20e60dae2ae7" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /]