Huntelaar: Denied by the woodwork on a frustrating night for Schalke
Maccabi Haifa moved into pole position after the opening round of fixtures in Group J courtesy of a win over AEK Larnaca, as Schalke had to settle for a draw against Steaua Bucharest.
Schalke, Champions League semi-finalists last season, opened their Europa League campaign with a disappointing goalless draw at Steaua Bucharest.
The Bundesliga side dominated the play but struggled to create clear-cut chances as their hopes of a winning start were thwarted.
Klaas -Jan Huntelaar, who scored four in the club's 6-1 second-leg play-off win over HJK Helsinki which booked their place in the group stage, had their best chance but failed to add to that tally as he thumped his shot from inside the area against the bar.
Schalke's attacking line-up, which featured Raul, Huntelaar and Jefferson Farfan, was always going to cause the hosts problems and the veteran Spaniard, more used to the Champions League than the Europa League, had a header from six yards tipped round the post by Steaua goalkeeper Cristian Tatarusanu in the 35th minute.
But the Romanians clung on for a valuable point thanks to a resolute defensive display.
Gadir victory
Mohammed Gadir's second-half goal earned Maccabi Haifa a 1-0 victory over AEK Larnaca in the group's second match of the day.
Elisha Levi's Maccabi side have had a disappointing time of it recently, being knocked out of the Champions League play-offs by Genk on penalties and since then failing to win either of their domestic games.
But Maccabi were soon creating chances against their Cypriot visitors, with Weam Amasha testing Marco Fortin in the eighth minute before the visiting goalkeeper was called on to keep out efforts from Idan Vered and Yaniv Katan.
Maccabi then took the lead in the 54th minute through Gadir, who headed in Taleb Tawatcha's cross for the match-winning goal.
Larnaca were struggling to find a way through the home defence as they sought an equaliser and, after Fortin had denied Marlon De Jesus, the visitors suffered a further blow when Spaniard Ander Murillo was dismissed for a professional foul on De Jesus.
There was no way back for Larnaca after that, although they did manage one late effort with Gonzalo Garcia firing wide in stoppage time.
Source: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12040_7179653,00.html
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