Penalty pain for Montpellier at Bordeaux
Reuters - Sunday 07 March 2010, 22:41
PARIS - Ligue 1 leaders Girondins
Bordeaux survived two penalties and being reduced to 10 men for
an hour to earn a 1-1 draw in their top-of-the-table clash with
Montpellier on Sunday.
The French champions are ahead of Montpellier on goal
difference with both teams on 52 points, two clear of Olympique
Lyon.
The match turned sour for Bordeaux on the half hour when
defender Michael Ciani was handed a straight red card for a foul
on Colombian striker Victor Hugo Montano.
Alberto Costa took the resulting penalty but Cedric Carrasso
denied him with a spectacular dive to his left.
The second penalty came four minutes before the break when
Matthieu Chalme handled the ball in area.
Montano took the penalty this time and had his first effort
disallowed by the referee. At the second attempt, Bordeaux
keeper Carrasso once again dived to his left and saved it.
Bordeaux scored on the hour when Marouane Chamakh controlled
the ball after a long-range free-kick and netted with a powerful
right foot shot.
Montpellier levelled four minutes into added time when Costa
redeemed himself with a 30-metre free-kick.
Olympique Marseille failed to put any pressure on the top
two when they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by mid-table
Lorient.
After missing several chances, Marseille seemed to have done
the hard work when Ligue 1 top scorer Mamadou Niang recorded his
15th goal of the season just before half time, banging in a cross
from Laurent Bonnart.
Laurent Koscielny, however, levelled in the 64th minute with
a scrappy goal.
The 25-year-old defender caught a Marama Vahirua free-kick
with the back of his head, Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda
deflected the ball on to the post but Koscielny recovered it and
pushed it over the line.
Marseille pushed hard until the final whistle but Lorient
goalkeeper Fabien Audiard denied each of their attempts.
"Of course, I'm disappointed. We had 12 chances and failed
to score a goal but we still have along way to go before the end
of the season," Marseille coach Didier Deschamps told a news
conference.
Marseille stay fourth in the table on 49 points.
Follow FFT.com on Twitter
Join FFT.com on Facebook