Debuchy returns Lille to the win column

Soccer Betting Lines

02/18/2012 - Lorient, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lille brought an end to its poor run of results on Saturday as Mathieu Debuchy's goal in the 76th minute gave the club a 1-0 win at Lorient.

A 5-4 defeat to Bordeaux last time out left Lille with just one win from its last five games and saw the defending champions slip further off the pace at the top of the league.

But Saturday's win moves the club to within eight points of leaders PSG, which will face second-place Montpellier on Sunday.

Both goalkeepers were sharp in the first half and needed to be to keep the match scoreless.

However, Lille began to take control after the break and netted the only goal of the contest inside the final 15 minutes when Benoit Pedretti played Debuchy in on goal and he finished off the play by smashing his shot off the right post and into the net.

Lorient's attack never got going after halftime and the club's winless streak has now reached eight games.

Marseille 1, Valenciennes 1

Marseille, France - Marseille extended its unbeaten streak to nine games on Saturday, but failed to significantly close the gap on the top two teams as the club was held to a 1-1 draw by Valenciennes.

Alou Diarra put Marseille in front after 15 minutes with a headed goal from Rod Fanni's cross, but Gil canceled out the opener early in the second half when he pounced on a loose ball near the six-yard box following a corner kick to fire home his first goal of the season.

Marseille moves into fourth with the result but is 11 points back of leaders PSG, while Valenciennes has claimed seven points from its last three games to sit six points above the drop zone.

Ajaccio 0, Brest 0

Ajaccio, France - Ajaccio failed to pull away from the relegation zone on Saturday as Eduaro's failed penalty kick in the 84th minute forced the team to settle for a 0-0 home draw with Brest.

The game entered the final 10 minutes without a goal, but Ajaccio appeared poised to take the lead when Brest's Benoit Lesoimier was whistled for handling the ball inside his own penalty area.

However, Eduardo sent his spot kick straight at goalkeeper Steeve Elana, keeping Ajaccio just two points above the relegation zone.

Caen 2, Evian 2

Caen, France - Sidney Govou's stoppage-time equalizer helped Evian salvage a 2-2 draw at Caen on Saturday in a battle of bottom-half teams.

A penalty kick from Pierre-Alain Frau just before the break put Caen into the lead, only for Cedric Barbosa to equalize five minutes after halftime for Evian.

Livio Nabab restored the home side's lead with a low shot that slipped underneath goalkeeper Stephan Andersen, but just when Caen thought it had claimed a second successive win, a corner kick found its way onto the right foot of Govou, who fired a volley into the net to grab his team a point.

Dijon 3, Nice 0

Dijon, France - Dijon put some distance between itself and the relegation places on Saturday after securing a 3-0 home win over second-from-the-bottom Nice.

The visitors entered the match on a five-game winless streak and went behind shortly before the break when Gael Kakuta played a one-two with Brice Jovial and slotted the return pass home.

Kakuta played provider on the second goal, which arrived in the 53rd minute when he picked out Jovial, who lobbed goalkeeper David Ospina to double the lead.

Koro Issa Kone put the finishing touches on the win in the final five minutes with another lobbed shot that sailed over the head of Ospina.

Toulouse 3, Nancy 0

Nancy, France - Toulouse moved into seventh place after claiming a comfortable 3-0 victory at Nancy on Saturday.

The visitors took charge from the start by scoring twice inside the opening 20 minutes with Francois Sirieix scoring his first goal of the season in the ninth minute before helping set up a goal for Adrien Regattin 10 minutes later.

Toulouse had lost three of its last four games but put the result out of reach in the 72nd minute when Regattin's volley was saved by goalkeeper Guy Ndy Assembe, only for Emmanuel Riviere to score on the rebound.

Sochaux 0, Auxerre 0

Montbeliard, France - The bottom two sides in Ligue 1 played to a 0-0 draw at the Stade Bonal on Saturday as Sochaux and Auxerre each claimed a point.

Auxerre goalkeeper Olivier Sorin was the busier of the two netminders and he did well, especially in the second half, to help his team to a point.

Cedric Bakambu tested Sorin with a shot in the 50th minute before the 'keeper made stops on Ryad Boudebouz and finally Marvin Martin, whose volley needed a nice stop from Sorin to preserve the point.

The result helps the survival chances of both sides just a bit, but it also extends winless skids for both with Sochaux's reaching 10 games while Auxerre hasn't won in six contests.