FOXNews.com: Giroud leaves it late for Montpellier

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Giroud leaves it late for Montpellier Mar 24th 2012, 22:28 Montpellier, France –  Montpellier moved to the top of Ligue 1 minute goal handed the club a 1-0 win over a stubborn St Etienne side. Montpellier entered the day two points back of leaders PSG, who will host Bordeaux on Sunday, but it looked as though the capital side would remain on top as the match entered its final minutes. St Etienne was playing with 10 men after Jean-Pascal Mignot was sent off in the 77th minute for a poor challenge on Montpellier's Remy Cabella. And the hosts finally made them pay when Giroud sent a volley through traffic and past goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier, who had done really well to keep his team on level terms until the dying minutes. The result leaves Montpellier one point clear of PSG, while St Etienne remains in sixth having lost three of its last four matches. Ajaccio 1, Lorient 1 Ajaccio, France - Ilan salvaged a 1-1 draw for Ajaccio against Lorient on Saturday with a goal on the hour mark that moves the club three points above the relegation places. Lorient had lost four of its last six contests but grabbed an early lead when Gregory Bourillon finished off a free kick from Yann Jouffre to give his team a 1-0 advantage after five minutes. Ajaccio pressed for an equalizer and had more opportunities over the course of 90 minutes, although the only goal that came was on the hour mark when Benjamin Andre picked out Ilan inside the area and he shot back across the face of goal to beat goalkeeper Fabien Audard. Nancy 1, Brest 0 Brest, France - Nancy moved five points clear of the drop zone on Saturday after securing a 1-0 win at Brest, which remains two points clear of the bottom three. Bakaye Traore provided the lone goal of the contest for Nancy, which has claimed 10 points from its last four games. Brest has lost three straight and struggled to threaten Nancy goalkeeper Guy N'Dy, whose most difficult save came on a 40-yard lob attempt. Lille 3, Evian 0 Annecy, France - Lille kept hold of third place by handing Evian a 3-0 home defeat that moves the visiting side four points clear of fourth-place Lyon. Eden Hazard scored a first-half penalty kick after he was fouled by Evian's Cedric Cambon and sent goalkeeper Stephan Andersen the wrong way from the spot. Dimitri Payet doubled the lead 10 minutes into the second half after Hazard released him into the area, while Benoit Pedretti made it 3-0 after stealing the ball from an Evian defender and firing a shot past the 'keeper from outside the box. The result ends a good run of form for Evian, which had won four of its last five games prior to Saturday. Lyon 2, Sochaux 1 Lyon, France - Lyon jumped into fourth place after securing a 2-1 win at home against Sochaux to move two points clear of Toulouse. Dejan Lovren netted the opening goal after three minutes by redirecting Kim Kallstrom's free kick before Sochaux came within inches of leveling the contest when Marvin Martin hammered a shot off the crossbar. Bafetimbi Gomis doubled the lead with 25 minutes remaining when he slotted home a shot after taking a pass from Anthony Reveillere, while the lone reply from Sochaux came six minutes later courtesy of Modibo Maiga. Nice 1, Marseille 1 Nice, France - Marseille snapped a five-game losing streak but was still held to a 1-1 draw at relegation-battling Nice on Saturday. Marseille has reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League but has struggled in domestic play, sitting eighth in Ligue 1 and well off the pace for a spot in next season's Champions League. The visitors had tallied just one goal in their last five games but took the lead through Andre Ayew in the 56th minute despite going down to 10 men on the stroke of halftime with Charles Kabore seeing red. Three points would have been a good result for Marseille, but Rod Fanni brought down Esmael Goncalves inside the penalty area with 15 minutes to play, allowing Luciano Monzon to equalize from the spot. Valenciennes 1, Rennes 0 Valenciennes, France - Valenciennes moved six points clear of the drop zone after holding off Rennes for a 1-0 win on Saturday. Valenciennes had claimed one point from its last three games but got the necessary goal in the 13th minute from the penalty spot with Gael Danic converting from 12 yards. Rennes has lost its last two matches and sits nine points back of third-place Lille.

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