Uefa Cup: Derry City 0 PSG 0: The ovation that greeted the final whistle at the Brandywell last night suggested the local supporters reckoned their team's performance in a tightly-contested and entertaining goalless draw amounted to a victory of sorts.
As they reflect on their latest Uefa Cup effort this morning, though, Stephen Kenny and his players may find it hard to resist wondering what might have been if they had taken one of two good early chances and had been awarded a second-half penalty.
Asked afterwards if he feels that City can still go on and win the game in Paris, Kenny replied, "I wouldn't say that I'm confident but I've an open mind about it. I thought we did better tonight when the game opened up in the second half and I think it will be more open over there which will suit us, we showed that in Gothenburg andGretna."
Defeat would have been harsh on a French side that dominated for all but the first 20 minutes but Guy Lacombe's side will still be relieved they do not have to come from behind in Paris.
Over the course of this game they produced enough chances to win several times over but there was still a hint of luck that Killian Brennan's looping shot after 16 minutes struck the bar and not the back of the net while the referee was kind to them when Kevin McHugh was bundled off the ball inside the area 10 minutes after the break.
The home side's strong start bred a good deal of optimism amongst a crowd boasting local celebrities but Derry failed to capitalise on their early domination and were fortunate to make it to half-time still on level terms.
Brennan twice left Michael Landreau flailing helplessly in mid-air with shots from the edge of the area but the first flew past the right-hand angle while the second came off the crossbar before the PSG defence scrambled the ball to safety. Had either effort hit the target the visiting side's early edginess might have been transformed into full-scale panic.
Instead PSG began to settle, creating more space on the ball, taking more time to use it effectively and stringing together some decent passing moves.
Within minutes their improvement was bearing fruit up front. Pierre Alain Frau, Armara Diana and Fabrice Pancrate generated attempts on goal at a rate that reached one a minute or so by half-time. David Forde made a couple of good saves but was fortunate that most of the shots left him with little to do.
Derry's back four had started nervously with Darren Kelly making a couple of potentially costly errors and they struggled to get to grips with things as the French stepped up the pace. On the two occasions that Forde fumbled badly, though, there were Derry players on hand to clear off the line with Brennan getting Pancrate's header clear and Kelly doing very well to block a goal-bound shot by Albert Baning.
His clearance capped a fine half for Brennan. His composure on the ball and ability to find team-mates in promising positions helped the home side to pose a threat down the left. On the other flank, though, Pat McCourt was repeatedly wasteful, giving possession away and incapable, it seemed, of beating a defender to get in a cross. But before the hour he made way for Gary Beckett with McHugh reverting to the wide role he had performed in earlier European games.
Before then, the Donegal man had a strong penalty claim rebuffed by the Slovakian referee when Sylvain Armand took his ground but not the ball. The incident came at a time when the home side were showing some signs of reasserting themselves.
Ken Oman was now shining at the heart of the back four while in midfield the central trio of Kevin Deery, Barry Molloy and Ciarán Martyn were having some success in driving their side forward and there were a handful of half chances as well as a couple of set-pieces to remind the visitors that they might still be left to chase the tie in Parc des Princes.
For the most part, though, it was Lacombe's side who looked the more likely to make the breakthrough and it took some solid defending during the final quarter of an hour for Derry to keep their opponents at bay. A run and shot by Boukary Drame that might have broken the deadlock had the goalkeeper not blocked well.
PSG, though, too held firm. A win for Derry then looks something of a long shot but having won twice on their European travels already this season Kenny feels they can still upset their opponents and grab a place in the group stages. "They have some technically good players to come in over there, but we're okay with that," he said.
PSG coach Lacmombe conceded that the draw had been a fair result. "Derry didn't deserve to lose tonight. Their spirit was fantastic. We played like an Irish side but it was necessary to be strong physically."
DERRY CITY: Forde; McCallion, Kelly, Oman, Hargan; McCourt (Beckett, 58 mins), Deery, Molloy, Martyn, Brennan (Farren, 79 mins); McHugh.
PARIS SAINT GERMAIN: Landreau; Paulo Cesar, Traore, Armand, Drame; Rozehnal, Hellebuyck; Baning (Chantome 85), Diane (Pauletta, 72 mins), Frau, Pancrate (Kalou, 79 mins).
Referee: R Havrilla (Slovakia).
