Montpellier 2-0 Olympique de Marseille: Stunning Karim Ait Fana Goal Hands OM Ligue 1 Knock-Out

Posted Sunday, January 31, 2010 by Goal.com

Montpellier sent out a warning shot to Ligue 1 that they are in the title race for the duration, leaving Olympique de Marseille trailing leaders Girondins de Bordeaux by 12 points as they solidified their spot in second.

A goalless first half promised more, and the fireworks were provided soon after the break, with a positive run from Karim Ait Fana complimented by a blockbuster finish. MHSC defended resolutely and notched a second goal through OM midfielder Benoit Cheyrou, who put through his own goal with 15 minute remaining.

There would be a nice tempo to the game throughout, with the opening salvo coming in the way of a cute one-two between Mamadou Niang and Hatem Ben Arfa that allowed the former a sight of goal, though his shot was pushed away by Geoffrey Jourdren.

Montpellier have rarely been slow to such challenges since winning promotion last term, hence second place coming into this round of fixtures, and they immediately responded by way of a thumping Victor Hugo Montano free kick that left OM’s crossbar shuddering and Steve Mandanda helpless.

Both sides played neat football at times but neither was especially impressive when in a goal scoring position. Indeed, Mandanda would make his first save on 25 minutes – an easy block from Joris Marveaux’s tentative effort. At the other end of the field, meanwhile, Hatem Ben Arfa saw penalty appeals waved away after he had danced through a forest of challenges.

Immediately before half-time, Montpellier passed up a golden opportunity to grab the lead. Charles Kabore was having a difficult time of it down his flank, so it was little surprise that the danger came from Ait Fana, whose cross seemed to have left Montano with a relatively routine finish, though the Colombian knocked the opportunity over the bar.

After the break Ait Fana took matters into his own hands with spectacular effect. The 20-year-old, who is of Moroccan descent, left two players standing as he broke powerfully towards goal. Seizing the moment, he triggered a magnificent shot that flew past Mandanda and into the net.

Though OM were winded by this blow, Montpellier defended resolutely, as they have done for much of the campaign. Ben Arfa shot rather hopefully over the top after winning rare space. While Montpellier were prepared to grasp their chance, les Phoceens looked somewhat nervous, with a header back across goal from Fabrice Abriel, who was in a potential goal scoring position, rather summing up their efforts. MHSC mopped up the danger confidently.

Ben Arfa continued to pose questions while the addition of Lucho Gonzalez from the bench added another dimension to Marseille’s attack, but la Paillade still looked the more likely side to add the second goal to their tally. Montano sprinted onto a Costa pass only to hit the post when clean through, though he would be flagged offside, but this merely postponed the second goal.

With quarter of an hour remaining, Costa whipped in a rather innocuous corner, which Benoit Cheyrou succeeded only in turning into his own net at the near post, effectively completing a precious and memorable victory for the hosts.