US star McKennie hits late Schalke winner at Lokomotiv

Moscow (AFP) – American international midfielder Weston McKennie hit an 88th-minute winner as struggling Schalke 04 edged Lokomotiv Moscow 1-0 in their Champions League Group D clash on Wednesday.

Schalke, runners-up in the Bundesliga last season, are currently second from bottom in Germany and were on course for another frustrating night in rain-lashed Moscow.

But McKennie, who spent part of his childhood in Germany where his father was serving in the US military, broke the deadlock with two minutes left when he headed in a corner from Yevhen Konoplyanka.

The victory put Schalke on top of the group although they can be overtaken later in the evening when Porto face Galatasaray.

Russian champions Lokomotiv lost their group opener 3-0 at Galatasaray and were hoping to bounce back in their first home Champions League game in 14 years.

In front of a 15,000 crowd, Lokomotiv’s only meaningful chance in the opening half came in the 27th minute when a shot from the edge of the box by Dmitry Barinov forced goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann into a diving save.

Daniel Caligiuri then prevented Bryan Idowu’s effort on the rebound.