Chambery upsets Sochaux in French Cup

PARIS (AP): Fifth-division team Chambery won its third consecutive French Cup match over a topflight club on Wednesday, rallying to knock out Sochaux 2-1 to reach the quarterfinals.

Nigeria striker Brown Ideye headed home the opener for Sochaux in the 21st minute.

Fabien Tissot-Rosset leveled with a volley from a free kick in the 61st, before Aissa Yahia Bey surprised goalkeeper Pierrick Cross with a 30-meter strike.

Chambery beat Monaco and Brest in the previous rounds.

France striker Guillaume Hoarau scored a hat trick as holder Paris Saint-Germain downed fourth-division side Martigues 4-1.

Martigues played with 10 men for 70 minutes after Boubacar Dembele was sent off for fouling Clement Chantome.

Peguy Luyindula scored PSG's other goal.

  

PSG, Lille and Rennes advance in French Cup

PARIS (AP): Holder Paris Saint-Germain reached the round of 16 of the French Cup with a 3-2 win at fifth-division club Agen on Sunday.

Following its defeat in the League Cup semifinals at Montpellier earlier this week, Antoine Kombouare's team struggled on a bad pitch but bounced back with goals from Mathieu Bodmer, Peguy Luyindula and Guillaume Hoarau.

Mamoudou Daffe and Anthony Vandersnick scored for Agen.

Kombouare was delighted by Luyindula's performance after the two had an angry exchange this week over the player's role at the club. Luyindula, who had refused to play at Montpellier, started the match against Agen.

"I'm only interested in seeing him play with fighting spirit, with a great state of mind, and I want him to show his qualities," Kombouare said. "He worked hard and was rewarded with a goal. Sometimes there are tensions within the group, but he responded well."

Rennes and Lille also advanced, while Lyon lost 1-0 at Nice in the only match between first-division teams. Nice defender Francois Clerc scored the winner in extra time against his former club.

Lyon finished with 10 men after Dejan Lovren was sent off in the 99th minute for a second yellow card.

"We lifted our game to their level. Lyon is a very good team and we struggled, that's normal, but we fought hard," said Clerc, a former France international who signed a two-year contract with Nice in September after leaving Lyon in bad terms.

Alexander Tettey and Yacine Brahimi scored second-half goals as Rennes beat sixth-division side Vaulx-en-Velin 2-0.

Tettey opened Rennes' account in the 50th minute when he met Jires Kembo's cross in the area before Brahimi beat goalkeeper Eddie Rion from close range in the 74th.

Vaulx-en-Velin, the lowest ranked club left in the competition, matched Rennes' possession and created several chances, forcing goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez to make two decisive saves in the last 30 minutes.

Brazilian forward Tulio de Mello headed the winner from Ludovic Obraniak's free kick in the 40th minute as league leader Lille continued its impressive form with a 1-0 win over fifth-division Wasquehal in a northern derby.

"We knew it could have been complicated," Lille coach Rudi Garcia said. "We reached our goal, we went through and that's the main thing."

Lille has won seven of its last eight games in all competitions.

On Saturday, Brest and Bordeaux joined the list of first-division teams eliminated. Brest lost 4-3 in a penalty shootout to fifth-division side Chambery while second-division Angers defeated Bordeaux 1-0.

  

Amateurs Chambery stun Brest

PARIS: Amateurs Chambery continued their dream French Cup run by claiming another Ligue 1 scalp after beating Brest on penalties to reach the last 16 as top flight clubs suffered further embarrassment on Saturday.

Bordeaux, the 2009 French champions, slump­ed to a 1-0 defeat at Ligue 2 Angers as only eight Ligue 1 clubs were left in the competition.

Fifth Division Chambery sent the 3,500 strong partisan crowd at their tiny stadium wild after Remy Sahinovic converted the decisive spot-kick.

Chambery won the shootout 4-3 after the match had finished 1-1 after extra time. Bruno Grougi had fired Brest ahead in the first extra period but Malick Faye equalised.

Fans ran on to the pitch to celebrate with the players, two weeks after Chambery knocked out Monaco in the previous round.

In another upset, Bordeaux barely threatened Angers and the hosts were rewarded for their domination in the 65th minute when midfielder Sebastien Renouard fired home from 18m. 

  

5th-division Chambery upsets Brest in French Cup

PARIS (AP): Fifth-division side Chambery beat Brest 4-3 in a penalty shootout in the second round of the French Cup on Saturday.

Brest looked set for victory when midfielder Bruno Grougi scored early in the second half of extra time, but with three minutes to go striker Malick Faye equalized for Chambery with his sixth goal of the Cup campaign.

"We thought we had done the hard work when we took the lead late on," Brest coach Alex Dupont said. "After that, penalty kicks are a lottery. It's disappointing for us."

Faye scored his other five goals as Chambery progressed through the qualification rounds, before knocking Monaco out - also on penalty kicks - in a first round which featured a record amount of upsets.

"Our wish is to face another team from the first division so the players get a taste of what it's like to play in a big stadium," Chambery coach David Guion said.

Larsen Toure and Omar Daf missed their kicks for Brest, while striker Aissa Yahia-Bey missed for the home side. Bordeaux joined the list of first-division teams eliminated, losing 1-0 away to second-division strugglers Angers.

Second-division Boulogne-sur-Mer lost 1-0 at home to fourth-division Drancy in another upset.

In the French first division, midfielder Adil Hermach and striker Toifilou Maoulida each scored as Lens beat Caen 2-0 at home to move out of the relegation zone, while defeat plunged Caen into the bottom three.

Caen cleared Maoulida's shot and it fell to Hermach, who volleyed the ball in from 20 meters out in the 20th minute.

Maoulida added the second goal 10 minutes into the second half when he chested down Gregory Certic's pass and beat goalkeeper Alexis Thebaux with the outside of his right foot.

It was only the fifth win this season for Lens, and the first time it has won consecutive games after last week's 2-1 home win over Saint-Etienne.

  

Monaco sack coach after humiliation

MONACO: AS Monaco sacked coach Guy Lacombe on Monday two days after their humiliating French Cup defeat by Fifth Division Chambery and named Laurent Banide as his replacement.

“The circumstances of the defeat at Chambery required a reorganisation of staff. It has therefore been decided to put Laurent Banide in charge with immediate effect,” Monaco said on their website (www.asm-fc.com).

Monaco’s poor first half of the season lef them 17th in Ligue 1, just one point above the relegation zone.

They were knocked out of the Cup by amateurs Chambery 3-2 on penalties after the game had ended in a 1-1 draw on Saturday.

Banide, 42, previously coached Monaco from 2006-2007. Lacombe took over in 2009 and led the club to the French Cup final last season.

He became the third Ligue 1 coach to leave this season after Michel Estevan was fired by bottom club Arles Avignon and Jean Guy Wallemme quit the role at Lens. 

  

Marseille upset 3-1 by Evian in French Cup

PARIS (AP) - Second-division leader Evian upset Marseille 3-1 in the round of 64 of the French Cup on Sunday.

Evian led 2-0 early on the waterlogged pitch after midfielder Cedric Barbosa struck in the 12th minute and striker Yannick Sagbo sent goalkeeper Elinton Andrade the wrong way four minutes later.

Marseille pulled one back when Evian defender Cedric Cambon scored an own-goal in the 59th minute, but Kevin Berigaud restored the two-goal margin with a close-range header in the 89th.

Marseille, which has won the French Cup a record 10 times but the last came in 1989, is the 10th topflight team to be knocked out at the weekend.

Last year's finalist Monaco lost 3-2 in a penalty shootout to fifth-division club Chambery on Saturday.

  

Amateur sides knock Monaco, Auxerre out of French Cup

PARIS: Amateurs Chambery and Wasquehal sprang huge surprises in the French Cup last 64 by knocking out Monaco and Auxerre respectively on an embarrassing Saturday for Ligue 1 clubs.

Valenciennes, St Etienne, Montpellier and Arles-Avignon were also eliminated by lower-league opposition, making it nine top-flight teams that have already gone out.

Paris St Germain, however, recorded a 5-1 demolition of fellow Ligue 1 team RC Lens who were playing their first competitive game under new coach Laszlo Boloni.

Ligue 1 leaders Lille eased past fifth division Forbach, goals by Eden Hazard, Aurelien Chedjou and Gervinho earning a 3-1 away win.

Olympique Lyon needed a second-half goal by Pape Diakhate to triumph 1-0 at Caen.

Remy Sahinovic put Chambery on the soccer map as the fifth division side knocked out Monaco 3-2 on penalties while Gregoire Debuchy and David Coulibaly helped Wasquehal beat Auxerre 2-1.

Sahinovic converted the last penalty in a tense shootout after the game had ended in a 1-1 draw.

Chambery is best known for its handball team, regulars in the Champions League, and surrounding ski resorts.

Wasquehal, who also play in the fifth division, live in Lille’s shadow and they were inspired after being loaned the stadium belonging to the Ligue 1 leaders.

Auxerre, who played in the Champions League this season, looked set for a routine win after Adama Coulibaly opened the scoring in the 12th minute.

Wasquehal hit back with 10 minutes left through Debuchy before David Coulibaly converted a penalty two minutes from time.

Ligue 1 side Nice avoided an embarrassing defeat at third division Creteil when keeper Lionel Letizi helped them to a 6-5 penalty shootout victory following a 1-1 draw.

Toulouse, another Ligue 1 side, were beaten 2-1 by third division Paris FC on Friday