Got back from Nancy this afternoon after last night's 1-0 defeat in the UEFA Cup first round, first leg.  Had a fantastic time, although I'm completely knackered now and will be off to bed shortly.

The fun all started early on Wednesday morning at Glasgow airport.  No sooner had Ally, GM and myself checked in for our flight to Paris than we were approached by BBC Scotland who wanted to interview us for that night's Reporting Scotland.  Sadly, I decided to decline as I didn't want my chickenpox face putting the viewers off their dinner :(

Anyway, at least half of the passengers on the flight were wearing claret and amber, and from that point onwards I knew this would be a trip to remember.  Upon arriving in Paris, we met up with Frankie boy and checked into our hotel before hitting the tourist trail.  Of course, our sight-seeing was interspersed with numerous stop-offs at Parisienne bars, and eventually we stumbled across a couple where you could actually buy a round of four drinks for under 30 euros :(

After just a few hours kip, we were up bright and early for breakfast at a cafe next to the hotel.  We even managed to sneak in a quick visit to the Arc de Triomphe before meeting up with GD (interrupting a family holiday in France to be there) at Gare de l'est to board the 12.12 TGV to Nancy, accompanied by several hundred other 'Well fans.  Upon arrival, we checked into our hotel and headed straight for Place Stanislas, noticing that every off license we passed en route had sold out of beer.  As you might expect, the square was jumping.  Some of the fans we spoke to mentioned that John Boyle and Bill Dickie had been there the previous night to pose for photos, however we also heard more worrying stories that locals in the surrounding streets had been chucking containers of p1ss at the Motherwell fans below, which seemingly resulted in a bit of bother kicking off.

After soaking up the atmosphere in the square and meeting up with a few other mates, we settled down in a little bar called Phenix for the remainder of the afternoon.  Just as the march to the stadium was about to begin, we decided to nip off for a quick McDonalds before catching up with the rest of the fans, and arrived at the ground around 30 mins before kick off.

Once inside, it became clear that few fans were bothering to sit in their allocated seats, and unbelievably this led to a punch-up among several boozed-up Motherwell supporters just a few yards away from where I was standing (a few rows behind Dougie Arnott, incidentally).  An elderly woman ended up being hit on the head and the situation could easily have escalated out of all control, but the stewards alongside the pitch were content to look on and do nothing.  Surely this could all have been avoided by the presence of some stewards actually INSIDE the stand directing fans to their designated seats.

Anyway, it was finally time for the game itself.  After what had happened against Celtic last Saturday, it was no surprise that Mark McGhee adopted a much more cautious approach, abandoning our usual 4-3-3 for a defensive 4-1-4-1 line-up that saw Bob Malcolm sit in front of the back four, with John Sutton the lone striker.  

To be completely honest, the first half was as dull as ditchwater, with Nancy completely dominating possession but never really looking like scoring.  That is, until the 40th minute when Berengeur sent a glancing header beyond Graeme Smith in what was just about the only goalmouth action of the first half.

Things picked up after the break, and we had a decent penalty shout turned down when Clarkson appeared to be upended in the box.  After that, the home side stepped up a gear and Graeme Smith was called upon to make two excellent saves to prevent us from going further behind.  On 72 minutes came possibly the turning point of the tie, when Smith pulled off a further superb save from Dia's penalty kick after Reynolds had tripped Feret in the box.  At 2-0 we would have faced a mountain to climb, but 1-0 means the tie is finely balanced for the second leg on Oct 2, and to be honest I didn't see much from Nancy last night to suggest we have anything to fear.

Once the players and management team had taken the applause of the fans, we then had to stay in the ground for a further 35 mins before the police would allow us to leave.  This sparked the much talked about CS spray incident, and although I didn't actually see any spraying take place, I believe this was the police response to a number of impatient fans banging on the gates.  I certainly saw a number of fans in some distress, with several being sick and others trying to cover their eyes and mouths with scarves.  It seemed like a complete overreaction from the riot police, and could easily have resulted in some REAL bother kicking off. 

Once we were finally allowed to leave, we made our way back to Place Stanislas where an impressive musical and light show was underway.  Wonder what the French supporters will make of the delights of Motherwell when they visit in two weeks, when they are treated to the likes of Brandon Parade, the Civic Centre and Glencairn Tower.  Anyway, the atmosphere seemed a lot more subdued than it was before the game, so we decided to head to the Irish bar near the station before rounding off the evening in style with a visit to the kebab shop.

Managed just a few hours sleep last night as I had to be up to catch the 6.15 TGV back to Paris.  There was still time for Ally, GM and myself to get the wrong train when trying to make our way to CDG airport, which resulted in us being left on a deserted carriage on a railway siding in the middle of nowhere.  Our cries for help were heard by a railway worker, who let us off the train and led us across the tracks and back onto the platform.  Fortunately we still made it in time for our return flight to Glasgow.

I see from the Official Site that tickets for the home leg have been priced at £15 and £10, with tickets going on sale next Wednesday for season book holders followed by a public sale on Friday.  We're being allocated the South Stand too.

A few pics from Paris and Nancy for your enjoyment...