Man City 1 Groclin 1
Nicolas Anelka was on target once again tonight, but Manchester City have a fight on their hands to remain in the UEFA Cup.
The French striker, back in the side for this second round game after a calf strain, made the breakthrough in the sixth minute. Instead of City growing in confidence, however, it was the unsung Polish side who started to gain the upper hand.
Sebastian Mila grabbed a superb equaliser midway through the second half and they will fancy their chances in the second leg at the end of the month.
Anelka's re-appearance meant Paulo Wanchope had to settle for a place on the bench despite scoring at the weekend. Shaun Wright-Phillips was also recalled to the team as Trevor Sinclair had a dead leg. Richard Dunne retained his place in defence ahead of David Sommeil.
Robbie Fowler tried to get City going after four minutes when he attempted to release Anelka. However Igor Koziol made a timely interception. Claudio Reyna should have put City ahead a minute later when he was released by Fowler, but the American sent his shot over the top from six yards.
The goal was not long coming, though, with Anelka making the breakthrough after six minutes. Fowler sprung the defence and with goalkeeper Mariusz Liberda slow to react, Anelka chipped the ball over him.
Groclin hit back and City goalkeeper David Seaman did well to block a header from Grzegorz Rasiak. The Poles were growing in confidence and Marcin Zajac was twice denied by Seaman in quick succession.
Reyna seemed to be in some discomfort and was replaced in the 25th minute by Paul Bosvelt. Fowler squandered a great chance of extending City's lead two minutes later, when he found the wrong side of the post after good work from Steve McManaman.
Then Sun Jihai raced deep into Polish territory, only for his effort to clear the bar. This was a good spell by City and Liberda had to race off his line to thwart Anelka after Bosvelt's defence-splitting pass. Fowler was marginally off target after Michael Tarnat drove a free-kick across the face of the area.
City could have put the tie out of Groclin's reach in the first half, but were wasteful in front of goal. But like Lokeren before them, Groclin were proving a difficult side to break down at the City of Manchester Stadium. Not only that, they looked dangerous on the break and Mila got away in the 51st minute only to fire wide.
Then Rasiak rattled in a shot from 20 yards which was narrowly off target. The pacy Zajac was causing City's problems with his runs from deep and Tarnat picked up a yellow card for a late challenge. City boss Kevin Keegan decided to bring off the ineffective McManaman in the 64th minute and replace him with Danny Tiatto.
Mila pulled Groclin level in the 66th minute with a superb free-kick from 20 yards. That goal stunned the home side after they had taken the early advantage.
The Polish side did not look finished either as they went in search of more goals. Wanchope was drafted into the action in the 71st minute, replacing the tiring Fowler. The Costa Rican striker should have regained the lead for City three minutes later, but hooked a volley over the top from close range.
Then Wright-Phillips dragged a shot across the face of the goal in a good spell of pressure by City. Tarnat thumped in a free-kick on the stroke of full time, but Liberda hacked it clear to bring a frustrating night for City to to a close.