Brugge captain Simons accepts goalless draw

Club Brugge captain Timmy Simons was pleased with a clean sheet after his team drew the home first leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final with Dnipro.

Both teams passed up chances to break the deadlock but Brugge’s Mathew Ryan found himself to be the busiest goalkeeper during the closing stages.

Brugge are competing for an unprecedented treble as they lie top of the Belgian top flight having won the domestic cup in March, and Simons conceded their continental challenge was tough.

“It’s always difficult to play a quarter-final of a European competition,” he told RTBF Sport.

“We created chances but we were unable to bring them to fruition. 

“We should have made it 1-0 and that might have allowed us to win. 

“But we kept the zero and it is the most important ahead of our trip to Kiev.”

Brugge forward Tom De Sutter came off the bench as Michel Preud’homme’s team pushed for victory and reflected on a frustrating evening.

De Sutter said: “It would have been nice to win but they were very complicated to play and very well organised. 

“We had opportunities and need to take advantage but we failed.”