FC Nantes Soccer
Relegation battlers Nantes and Ajaccio were forced to settle for a point each as they fought out a goalless draw at La Beaujoire. The result maintains Nantes' five-point lead over Rolland Courbis' side but the visitors, after surviving a late scare, will not have been too disappointed with the result. Nicolas Savinaud, Mamadou Bagayoko and Claudiu Keseru all went close for Nantes late on but Ajaccio survived. There was little to excite in a dull first half but that might have been different had Pascal Delhommeau taken his early chance to open the scoring. Delhommeau broke clear of the Ajaccio defence after just three minutes but failed to hit the target. The Corsicans also spurned an opportunity after 10 minutes when Marcelo Edson won a challenge with Loic Guillon and shot from distance but Mickael Landreau was not tested. At the other end Gilles Yapi Yapo tried his luck from 30 yards but goalkeeper Stephane Porato did enough to touch the ball onto the bar and then gathered at the second attempt. Porato again had to be alert on 22 minutes as Olivier Quint met a Keseru ball with a well-struck volley. Mamadou Diallo almost squeezed the ball in on the rebound but his effort went wide. There was little else by way of goalmouth action in the first half and both sides were booed off the field at the interval. The second half began in much the same fashion and it was not until the 69th minute that either keeper was tested again as Landreau was called upon to save from Yohan Demont.
Nantes did manage to finish strongly with Savinaud having a good shot from in front of goal diverted wide. Bagayoko volleyed at goal from the resulting corner but still the deadlock could not be broken. Keseru could have settled the match nine minutes from time but Porato was equal to his shot.