SAINT-ETIENNE, France — Saint-Etienne and Bordeaux missed the chance to go level on points with French league leader Marseille after drawing 1-1 on Thursday.
In front of its buoyant fans, Saint-Etienne extended its unbeaten home record to 16 matches but should rue its lack of efficiency.
Christophe Galtier’s side missed too many chances in the first half although Ricky van Wolfswinkel, on loan from Norwich, opened the scoring with a left-footed shot after connecting with a fine cross from Franck Tabanou in the 29th minute.
Defender Tiago Ilori, an English Premier League player on loan from Liverpool, headed home the equalizer eight minutes later against the run of play after some confusion in the box following a corner.
"We wouldn’t have deserved the three points," said Bordeaux coach Willy Sagnol, a former Saint-Etienne and France player. "We showed determination but in terms of quality of play we did not show much."
Saint-Etienne and Bordeaux trail Marseille by two points after seven rounds.
Saint-Etienne, which travels to Marseille on Sunday, got off to a bright start and created a first opportunity after four minutes when Francois Clerc unleashed a 25-meter strike that forced keeper Cedric Carrasso to a two-fisted save.
The hosts kept pushing throughout the first half and Van Wolfswinkel should have scored in the 16th from Allan Saint-Maximin’s low cross but he missed the target from close range as Carrasso looked well beaten.
Saint-Etienne’s best chance of the second half came in the 58th when Renaud Cohade volleyed from 25 metres only to be denied by Carrasso.
Bordeaux players vented their anger towards the referee in stoppage time after he ignored their penalty claims when Saint-Etienne keeper Stephane Ruffier rushed to the ball in the area with Nicolas Maurice-Belay hitting the ground.