Montpellier vs Sochaux. French Ligue 1.
Stade de la Mosson.
Saturday 26 January 2013 22:34, UK
Reigning champions Montpellier moved up to seventh in the Ligue 1 table with a comfortable 2-0 win over lowly Sochaux.
Reigning champions Montpellier moved up to seventh in the Ligue 1 table with a comfortable 2-0 win over lowly Sochaux. Rene Girard's men had a shocking start to the season but have shown signs of recovery over recent months, with the latest coming on Saturday. They were ahead in the 28th minute through Emanuel Herrera and had things wrapped up when John Utaka doubled their lead six minutes later. It was all Montpellier after that and they should have added more, but had to settle for two which, at one point, looked unlikely as Sochaux started the better. Sebastian Roudet got in on the keeper but could not get the better of Geoffrey Jourdren and then, when the goalkeeper was beaten by Yassine Mikari, Hilton was on hand to clear the danger. After that, it was one-way traffic, and when Souleymane Camara got into the area, he flicked in a pass which Herrera coolly dispatched with a first-time volley. One soon became two, with Loic Puojol losing possession to Henri Bedimo, a counter-attack starting and Utaka finishing it with a low drive. After the break the onslaught continued, with Utaka heading just over from a Marco Estrada free-kick, while Estrada's next dead ball caused keeper Simon Pouplin to make a last-ditch block. Estrada's deliveries were causing all sorts of chaos and he again played in Utaka whose volley was kept out by Pouplin. It was entirely down to the stopper that the game ended 2-0, as he again produced a moment of brilliance with the clock ticking down, tipping away a Gaetan Charbonnier shot after good work from Utaka.