Marseille beats Boulogne 2-0 in French league

Posted Sunday, December 13, 2009 by AP

PARIS (AP)—Marseille moved within three points of leader Bordeaux in the French league by beating Boulogne 2-0 on Saturday.

Defender Gabriel Heinze scored for Marseille with a header in the 48th minute off a corner from Benoit Cheyrou, and six minutes later fullback Taye Taiwo converted a penalty kick after Lucho Gonzalez was fouled.

“It was a tricky match. We knew it,” Cheyrou told Foot Plus television. “We quickly saw that we needed to be patient. Last season, we lost many points, and the title race, in those types of matches. Such victories are encouraging for the remainder of the season.”

Boulogne defender Olubayo Adefemi was sent off in the 89th for a harsh tackle on Hatem Ben Arfa.

Defending champion Bordeaux tops the standings with 31 points and will face Lyon on Sunday.

Also on Saturday, it was: Lorient 0, Auxerre 0; Le Mans 2, Valenciennes 1; Nancy 1, Rennes 2 and Lens 2, Nice 0.

In Lorient, Kevin Gameiro chipped Auxerre goalkeeper Olivier Sorin in the 41st, but Adama Coulibaly rushed back to clear the ball off the line.

Auxerre had a chance in the second half when Ireneusz Jelen was clear on goal but Lorient goalkeeper Fabien Audard stopped the forward’s shot with his foot in the 69th. Kamel Chafni followed up but sent his header above the bar.

In the last minute, Laurent Koscielny nearly won it for Lorient when he hit the post from close range.

“We lacked pace in the first half and we lacked lucidity in the second,” Lorient coach Christian Gourcuff told Canal Plus television.

Lorient remained undefeated at Stade du Moustoir this season, while Auxerre lived up to its reputation as the tightest defense on the road.

Auxerre trails Bordeaux by four points but is one point ahead of Lorient.

Le Mans overcame playing the second half a man short when Anthony Le Tallec looped a free kick under the crossbar in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Sebastien Corchia put Le Mans ahead with a header in the 30th but Gael Danic collected a throughball from midfielder Fahid Ben Khalfallah to level with a low shot in the 33rd.

Le Mans was reduced to 10 men on the stroke of halftime when forward Modibo Maiga was ejected for a second yellow card.

“At halftime, I asked our lads to salvage that point,” Arnaud Cormier told Europe 1. “But then we know that a match can change at any moment.”

This was Cormier’s first match as a coach at Le Mans since Paulo Duarte’s dismissal on Wednesday.

“Well done to the players because they were extremely courageous. It’s good for morale.”

Le Mans snapped an eight-game winless streak but remained in the relegation zone with 12 points, tied with Boulogne.

In Nancy, Sylvain Marveaux notched the winner for Rennes with a strike into the top corner in the 70th.

Midfielder Julien Feret scored for the host side in the 40th with a powerful strike from the edge of the box.

But Rennes equalized in the 48th with an own-goal from Bakaye Traore.

Nancy had an opportunity to recapture the lead in the 62nd when Feret was fouled inside the area, but goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez stopped the penalty kick by Andre Luiz.

Defender Damian Macaluso added more trouble for Nancy in the 67th by receiving a second yellow card for insulting the referee.

“There are times when I want to kiss my players and congratulate them, and there are times when I want to kiss them before cutting their throats,” outspoken Nancy coach Pablo Correa said.

Rennes improved to sixth in the standings, five points behind Bordeaux.

In Lens, Kanga Akale headed in a cross from Yohan Demont in the 18th before crossing the ball for Toifilou Maoulida, who doubled the lead with a header in the 36th.

Nice forward Mamadou Bagayoko was red-carded in the 47th for kicking Nenad Kovacevic in the head while fighting for the ball.

Lens moved closer to the middle of the table with 21 points while Nice still had 20 points after its third straight loss.

On Sunday, it’s: Toulouse vs. Montpellier; Monaco vs. Lille; Paris Saint-Germain vs. Saint-Etienne and Sochaux vs. Grenoble.

In the second division, three Nantes players contracted swine flu on Saturday.