RSS
ATOM
advertisement
Ligue 1 Round-Up: Lorient, Saint-Etienne & Sochaux The Early Evening Winners
Goals were in short supply in Ligue 1 this evening, with only a 2-2 draw between Lens and Rennes perking things up...
| Bet: | Returns: | AJ Auxerre £24.00 | Draw £31.00 | FC Lorient £30.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | AJ Auxerre £23.80 | Draw £31.00 | FC Lorient £31.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | AJ Auxerre £24.00 | Draw £30.00 | FC Lorient £30.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | AJ Auxerre £23.80 | Draw £32.00 | FC Lorient £30.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | AJ Auxerre £23.00 | Draw £31.50 | FC Lorient £33.50 |
|
Aug 29, 2009 8:45:37 PM
Saturday August 29, 2009
Boulogne-Sur-Mer 0-0 Auxerre
Racing Club de Lens 2-2 Stade Rennais
Lorient 1-0 Le Mans
Nice 0-3 Montpellier
Saint-Etienne 1-0 Grenoble
Sochaux 1-0 Monaco
Olympique Lyonnais 3-1 Nancy
Boulogne-Sur-Mer 0-0 Auxerre
Ligue 1’s first no scoring draw of the season arrived by way of a turgid match between Boulogne and Auxerre, who have still yet to score this season.
Coming into this game on the back of two wins, a rip-roaring started was expected from the hosts, but this didn’t materialise as the first period was played at a rather disappointing tempo, with few real chances for either side. Boulogne were the stronger side from the outset, but AJA came back into things in the second quarter of proceedings, with a long-range effort from Benoit Pedretti the best the first half had to offer.
AJA made a brace of changes at the interval and immediately looked more likely to strike their first league goal of the season. Daniel Niculae had a shot down the throat of Mathieu Valverde before Kamel Chafni shot over moments later.
Sadly, this positive start to the period would prove a false dawn, and the two sides went back to neutralising each other in the centre of the park.
Racing Club de Lens 2-2 Stade Rennais
An action-packed encounter at the Stade Felix-Bollaert finished all squad courtesy of a dramatic late equaliser from Asamoah Gyan.
The match could not have started any more perfectly for the visiting side, who foraged ahead after just a few minutes when a bad error in the home defence was pounced upon by Rod Fanni, whose centre ultimately broke to Ismael Bangoura. The Guinean wasted no time in opening the scoring.
Rennes continued to press the home goal in a threatening manner, with Gyan shooting narrowly off-target before sending a shot against the crossbar of the home goal.
Lens had done little of real note in the first period but battled back via the penalty spot after Issam Jemaa had been fouled by Petter Hansson. Yohan Demont shot home from 12-yards.
Eduardo would go close for the hosts moments later, but much of the offensive work was being compiled by the visitors, who pieced together a sweeping move that culminated in Gyan going close. The same player continued to be a menace but saw a late effort in the first half rise over the top.
Within five second half minutes, home defender Marco Ramos has been dismissed, having picked up a second yellow card. If anything, this perked the hosts up, and they quickly went close through Jemaa, whose close-range header was brilliantly stopped by Nicolas Douchez.
And the momentum further swung in Lens’ favour when Yann M’Vila was somewhat harshly dismissed for a tackle from behind. This proved the springboard for Jemaa to strike them ahead, a near post header from a Dumont centre guiding the hosts into a lead that had seemed unlikely only 20 minutes earlier.
But it would not be enough for them to claim three points, as a late headed flick from Petter Hansson picked out Gyan, who finally took a chance, thumping the ball into the net to salvage a draw in stoppage time.
Lorient 1-0 Le Mans
It was mediocre to begin with, but Lorient and Le Mans really fired the attention in the final half hour, with one goal enough to differentiate the sides.
Although Thorstein Helstad squandered an early chance for the visiting side, hitting relatively weakly at Fabien Audard in the home net, it would be Lorient who enjoyed the better of the first half. Still, they were relatively inactive in front of goal, with an effort from Kevin Gameiro that was blocked the best they could muster.
Le Mans looked somewhat more threatening, Anthony Le Tallec sending a drive effort narrowly wide, while a terrific effort from Gergory Cerdan zipped narrowly over.
After a rather dull start to the second period, things picked up on the hour mark, starting with a Morgan Amalfitano lob that dropped over. Two minutes later Lorient had the lead courtesy of a glorious Marama Vahirua free kick, which was out of keeping with much of what had preceded it.
Le Mans responded with a Mathieu Coutadeur free kick that evaded everyone but happily for the hosts landed on their post, while a Vahirua shot screamed past at the other end.
Chances were readily appearing, with another thumping Cerdan shot going just over the top. Next Audard had to be alive to block from Thomas Dossevi, while Gameiro nearly extended Lorient’s lead at the opposite end of the field with a cannonball shot.
But this did not need to fly in, because Lorient had done enough to cling onto three valuable points.
Nice 0-3 Montpellier
The fine form of newly promoted Montpellier continued at the Stade du Ray, where they shocked Nice by virtue of a victory built on the foundations of a very impressive start to either half.
Geoffrey Dernis had forced a save from David Ospina in the home goal in the very first minute, but it would take him two further clicks for the young Colombian goalkeeper to be picking the ball from his net. A horrible error from Larrys Mabiala allowed him through, and the veteran showed a cool head to finish.
Nice had much first half possession but it would again be the guests who would come closest to scoring, Victor Hugo Montano clattering a shot off the crossbar from a free kick.
The hosts’ impotence was leading to unrest from the crowd, who were vocal in their dissatisfaction with the manner in which the match was being played. This only got worse when Montano added a second for MHSC just after the break, latching onto a Romain Pitau pass to shrug off Cid and slip the ball home.
While the home fans were discontent, the away fans seemed intent on committing virtual suicide, throwing a flare onto the park after 60 minutes that nearly got the game voided. Indeed, it would cause a 20 minute delay.
When things restarted, matters got little better for Nice, who would have an effort cleared from the line by Dzodic. Six minutes after this, a bad error from Onyekachi Apam let Lillian Compan complete the scoring.
Nice’s misery still had a level to rise, though, with Apam dismissed for a second yellow card.
Saint-Etienne 1-0 Grenoble
Aside from a few select moments, victory was rarely in doubt, but it was still a nervy Saint-Etienne side that collected their first win of the season against Grenoble.
Les Verts would probe around the visiting goalmouth for a significant period of time before finally grabbing the lead. Boubacar Sanogo half-volley on 14 minutes nicked off a defender and went safe for a corner, but Sainte seemed short on ideas once again. Finally the prised the visitors open, with some neat passing and moving culminating in Christophe Landrin shooting low into the goal.
It was nearly two moments later, when an effort from Kevin Mirallas was touched onto the post by former Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Jody Viviani, who was by far the more active of the glovesmen in the first half.
The threat in front of goal would largely remain in front of the GF38 net for the second period, too. While Sanogo was key to Sainte’s attacks, Ljuboja was totally central to much of the positive things Grenoble did, striking narrowly wide with a decent effort on 56 minutes.
But the home side remained in control, always wary that their lead was never decisive until a second goal was added. Dimitri Payet had a snap-shot narrowly over, but the crucial strike still seemed distant.
With time ticking away, a fine burst from young Bakary Sako nearly instigated a second goal for the hosts, but his cross was not met by anyone in the centre.
Stoppage time brought two real scares for the hosts, with Joseph Tadic’s shot a real teaser for the fans, who must’ve felt the ball was going under rather than over the bar.
Sainte had done enough to claim their first points of the season, while Grenoble are still searching for theirs.
Sochaux 1-0 Monaco
Monaco’s inconsistency remains, as they were defeated by a strong-willed Sochaux in the east of France.
For the opening 15 minutes, it seemed that Monaco would take firm control of this tie, but aside from an effort from Park Chu-Young, they never really threatened the home goal. As soon as Sochaux took a grip on the match, a flurry of dangers occasions arose, with Marvin Martin’s shot wide a signal of intent.
Only moments later Charlie Davies would be fouled in the box by Sebastien Puygrenier, and Vaclav Sverkos made no mistake from the spot.
The pressure on Sebastien Ruffier’s goal remained intense, with a Ryad Boudebouz shot hitting the bar before Puygrenier almost put through his own goal. In this same ten minute spell, Sverkos went very close to finding the target after good work out wide from Davies, with only a brief respite coming for the guests by way of a Frederic Nimani shot well saved by Teddy Richert.
No change was to come in the pattern of play in the second half, with Davies setting the tone with a dangerous drive early on before Nicolas Maurice-Belay went close.
The dominance that les Lionceaux held gradually faded as the match wore on, though, a Nene shot aside, Monaco posed little threat. In the last but one minute of the match, Nene again took aim, but although his effort was caught well, it fizzed over the top of the goal.
Aside from a late flurry of corners, this was the last real chance, meaning les Monegasques have the long road home to reflect on defeat.
Robin Bairner, Goal.com
Boulogne-Sur-Mer 0-0 Auxerre
Racing Club de Lens 2-2 Stade Rennais
Lorient 1-0 Le Mans
Nice 0-3 Montpellier
Saint-Etienne 1-0 Grenoble
Sochaux 1-0 Monaco
Olympique Lyonnais 3-1 Nancy
Boulogne-Sur-Mer 0-0 Auxerre
Ligue 1’s first no scoring draw of the season arrived by way of a turgid match between Boulogne and Auxerre, who have still yet to score this season.
Coming into this game on the back of two wins, a rip-roaring started was expected from the hosts, but this didn’t materialise as the first period was played at a rather disappointing tempo, with few real chances for either side. Boulogne were the stronger side from the outset, but AJA came back into things in the second quarter of proceedings, with a long-range effort from Benoit Pedretti the best the first half had to offer.
AJA made a brace of changes at the interval and immediately looked more likely to strike their first league goal of the season. Daniel Niculae had a shot down the throat of Mathieu Valverde before Kamel Chafni shot over moments later.
Sadly, this positive start to the period would prove a false dawn, and the two sides went back to neutralising each other in the centre of the park.
Racing Club de Lens 2-2 Stade Rennais
An action-packed encounter at the Stade Felix-Bollaert finished all squad courtesy of a dramatic late equaliser from Asamoah Gyan.
The match could not have started any more perfectly for the visiting side, who foraged ahead after just a few minutes when a bad error in the home defence was pounced upon by Rod Fanni, whose centre ultimately broke to Ismael Bangoura. The Guinean wasted no time in opening the scoring.
Rennes continued to press the home goal in a threatening manner, with Gyan shooting narrowly off-target before sending a shot against the crossbar of the home goal.
Lens had done little of real note in the first period but battled back via the penalty spot after Issam Jemaa had been fouled by Petter Hansson. Yohan Demont shot home from 12-yards.
Eduardo would go close for the hosts moments later, but much of the offensive work was being compiled by the visitors, who pieced together a sweeping move that culminated in Gyan going close. The same player continued to be a menace but saw a late effort in the first half rise over the top.
Within five second half minutes, home defender Marco Ramos has been dismissed, having picked up a second yellow card. If anything, this perked the hosts up, and they quickly went close through Jemaa, whose close-range header was brilliantly stopped by Nicolas Douchez.
And the momentum further swung in Lens’ favour when Yann M’Vila was somewhat harshly dismissed for a tackle from behind. This proved the springboard for Jemaa to strike them ahead, a near post header from a Dumont centre guiding the hosts into a lead that had seemed unlikely only 20 minutes earlier.
But it would not be enough for them to claim three points, as a late headed flick from Petter Hansson picked out Gyan, who finally took a chance, thumping the ball into the net to salvage a draw in stoppage time.
Lorient 1-0 Le Mans
It was mediocre to begin with, but Lorient and Le Mans really fired the attention in the final half hour, with one goal enough to differentiate the sides.
Although Thorstein Helstad squandered an early chance for the visiting side, hitting relatively weakly at Fabien Audard in the home net, it would be Lorient who enjoyed the better of the first half. Still, they were relatively inactive in front of goal, with an effort from Kevin Gameiro that was blocked the best they could muster.
Le Mans looked somewhat more threatening, Anthony Le Tallec sending a drive effort narrowly wide, while a terrific effort from Gergory Cerdan zipped narrowly over.
After a rather dull start to the second period, things picked up on the hour mark, starting with a Morgan Amalfitano lob that dropped over. Two minutes later Lorient had the lead courtesy of a glorious Marama Vahirua free kick, which was out of keeping with much of what had preceded it.
Le Mans responded with a Mathieu Coutadeur free kick that evaded everyone but happily for the hosts landed on their post, while a Vahirua shot screamed past at the other end.
Chances were readily appearing, with another thumping Cerdan shot going just over the top. Next Audard had to be alive to block from Thomas Dossevi, while Gameiro nearly extended Lorient’s lead at the opposite end of the field with a cannonball shot.
But this did not need to fly in, because Lorient had done enough to cling onto three valuable points.
Nice 0-3 Montpellier
The fine form of newly promoted Montpellier continued at the Stade du Ray, where they shocked Nice by virtue of a victory built on the foundations of a very impressive start to either half.
Geoffrey Dernis had forced a save from David Ospina in the home goal in the very first minute, but it would take him two further clicks for the young Colombian goalkeeper to be picking the ball from his net. A horrible error from Larrys Mabiala allowed him through, and the veteran showed a cool head to finish.
Nice had much first half possession but it would again be the guests who would come closest to scoring, Victor Hugo Montano clattering a shot off the crossbar from a free kick.
The hosts’ impotence was leading to unrest from the crowd, who were vocal in their dissatisfaction with the manner in which the match was being played. This only got worse when Montano added a second for MHSC just after the break, latching onto a Romain Pitau pass to shrug off Cid and slip the ball home.
While the home fans were discontent, the away fans seemed intent on committing virtual suicide, throwing a flare onto the park after 60 minutes that nearly got the game voided. Indeed, it would cause a 20 minute delay.
When things restarted, matters got little better for Nice, who would have an effort cleared from the line by Dzodic. Six minutes after this, a bad error from Onyekachi Apam let Lillian Compan complete the scoring.
Nice’s misery still had a level to rise, though, with Apam dismissed for a second yellow card.
Saint-Etienne 1-0 Grenoble
Aside from a few select moments, victory was rarely in doubt, but it was still a nervy Saint-Etienne side that collected their first win of the season against Grenoble.
Les Verts would probe around the visiting goalmouth for a significant period of time before finally grabbing the lead. Boubacar Sanogo half-volley on 14 minutes nicked off a defender and went safe for a corner, but Sainte seemed short on ideas once again. Finally the prised the visitors open, with some neat passing and moving culminating in Christophe Landrin shooting low into the goal.
It was nearly two moments later, when an effort from Kevin Mirallas was touched onto the post by former Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Jody Viviani, who was by far the more active of the glovesmen in the first half.
The threat in front of goal would largely remain in front of the GF38 net for the second period, too. While Sanogo was key to Sainte’s attacks, Ljuboja was totally central to much of the positive things Grenoble did, striking narrowly wide with a decent effort on 56 minutes.
But the home side remained in control, always wary that their lead was never decisive until a second goal was added. Dimitri Payet had a snap-shot narrowly over, but the crucial strike still seemed distant.
With time ticking away, a fine burst from young Bakary Sako nearly instigated a second goal for the hosts, but his cross was not met by anyone in the centre.
Stoppage time brought two real scares for the hosts, with Joseph Tadic’s shot a real teaser for the fans, who must’ve felt the ball was going under rather than over the bar.
Sainte had done enough to claim their first points of the season, while Grenoble are still searching for theirs.
Sochaux 1-0 Monaco
Monaco’s inconsistency remains, as they were defeated by a strong-willed Sochaux in the east of France.
For the opening 15 minutes, it seemed that Monaco would take firm control of this tie, but aside from an effort from Park Chu-Young, they never really threatened the home goal. As soon as Sochaux took a grip on the match, a flurry of dangers occasions arose, with Marvin Martin’s shot wide a signal of intent.
Only moments later Charlie Davies would be fouled in the box by Sebastien Puygrenier, and Vaclav Sverkos made no mistake from the spot.
The pressure on Sebastien Ruffier’s goal remained intense, with a Ryad Boudebouz shot hitting the bar before Puygrenier almost put through his own goal. In this same ten minute spell, Sverkos went very close to finding the target after good work out wide from Davies, with only a brief respite coming for the guests by way of a Frederic Nimani shot well saved by Teddy Richert.
No change was to come in the pattern of play in the second half, with Davies setting the tone with a dangerous drive early on before Nicolas Maurice-Belay went close.
The dominance that les Lionceaux held gradually faded as the match wore on, though, a Nene shot aside, Monaco posed little threat. In the last but one minute of the match, Nene again took aim, but although his effort was caught well, it fizzed over the top of the goal.
Aside from a late flurry of corners, this was the last real chance, meaning les Monegasques have the long road home to reflect on defeat.
Robin Bairner, Goal.com
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £100 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power for a free bet up to £50 |
|
Advertisement
Inside Goal.Com
-
Capello remains one of the greats of the game
After tasting success wherever he had gone previously, the coach will look upon his time at Wembley as an incomplete job rather than a complete failure
-
Can Suarez repeat Cantona's grand comeback?
The divisive Uruguayan can look to history when he starts against United on Saturday for the first time since receiving an eight-match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra
-
Key battles: Manchester United v Liverpool
The former Reds defender believes that the Uruguayan must put controversy to the back of his mind when his team face the champions
-
The importance of Champions League qualification
The Ruhr side's remarkable run in Europe's elite tournament saw their revenue unexpectedly soar last season, but some teams are structured to depend on such results to survive
-
Cartoon: Capello's managerial merry-go-round
Goal.com cartoonist Omar Momani gives us his unique take on the football news of the day ...
Advertisement
Advertisement
