Grasshopper Zurich 1 - 2 Leeds United

	Danny Mills beats Pascal Castillo of Grasshoppers (PhilCole/Allsport)

Smith struck 11 minutes from time, just six minutes after Ian Harte had equalised for Leeds with an unstoppable left-foot free kick.

It was Leeds' first away win in Europe for nine months but the real hero was goalkeeper Nigel Martyn, who made a series of world-class saves to deny the Swiss champions in the first leg of their third-round UEFA Cup tie.

Although Martyn may feel he should have stopped Stephane Chapuisat's 17th-minute opener, he more than made amends in front of an admiring audience which included England coach Sven Goran Eriksson.

He pulled off two outstanding stops just after the break but saved his best until the 67th minute when Rio Ferdinand was harshly penalised for a foul on Ricardo Nunez.

Nunez was actually fouled outside the box but referee Lucilio Batista awarded a penalty. Nunez took the spot-kick himself and Martyn responded with a superb save to his left before denying Benjamin Mwaruwari from the rebound.

Earlier, Chapuisat had scored his fifth European goal of the season by wrong- footing England defender Ferdinand and his partner Dominic Matteo and then unleashing a wicked left-foot shot which bounced off the sodden turf beyond the reach of the despairing Martyn.

Chapuisat's moment of brilliance in a difficult first half was in marked contrast to the frustrating performances of Leeds strike partners Robbie Keane and Smith.

The pair, who failed to score against Sunderland at the weekend, were again given the opportunity to prove themselves to David O'Leary in the absence of Australia's Mark Viduka, who remains on World Cup duty until the weekend.

By the end of the first half, Smith had missed two good opportunities and was also fortunate not to be booked for kicking the ball at Nunez. Keane on the other hand barely had a touch, never mind a shot.

Yet, Leeds had looked the more likely to break the deadlock after a lively start to an encounter which started in torrential rain which, if anything, seemed to get even heavier.

With more composure, Smith, starting only his third game of the season might have put Leeds in front after just four minutes. He outsprinted his marker, Pascal Castillo, after Eirik Bakke dispossessed Boris Smiljanic but his shot flew wide.

It was a positive start for Leeds, who were looking for their first win on their European travels since they beat Andelecht in the on the way to last season's Champions League semi-finals.

They certainly set out to put that record straight in the early stages last night and within 10 minutes Olivier Dacourt and Bakke went close without troubling goalkeeper Peter Jehle.

The Swiss side gradually found their feet, however, and before Chapuisat's opening goal Mwaruwari was allowed space at the edge of the box but his shot was off target.

The opener clearly gave Grasshopper some extra confidence and Ricardo Cabanas and Papa Bouba Diop both tested Martyn. The most dangerous effort, however, was a curling left-foot free kick from Nunez which Martyn palmed over his bar.

There was some encouragement for O'Leary before the break when Matteo went close with a volley from the edge of the penalty area and Smith fired a shot just over the bar.

O'Leary's half-time team-talk appeared to have done the trick. Within a minute of the restart, Jehle was forced into a full-stretch dive to keep out Castillo's miss-hit clearance from Danny Mills's cross.

But then it was Martyn who was called upon to make three crucial saves in a minute to deny Cabanas, Mwaruwari and Nunez.