Guingamp boost survival hopes

Guingamp moved seven points clear of the Ligue 1 drop zone as they recorded a 2-1 win at Ajaccio on Saturday.

Guingamp moved seven points clear of the Ligue 1 drop zone as they recorded a 2-1 win at Ajaccio on Saturday. While Ajaccio are the league's whipping boys and looking certain to go down, they still needed beating and the visitors did just that. They had to recover from going down to Paul Lasne's eighth-minute opener and did so, with Mustapha Yatabare levelling in the 13th and Claudio Beauvue winning it close to the end. The result gives Guingamp so healthy breathing space in the lower reaches of the table as the season enters its business end. It was a flying start from Ajaccio that got the game going, with Benjamin Andre finding Lasne who curled in from just inside the area. Guingamp's response was an instant one with Younousse Sankharen muscling through the covering defenders and freeing Yatabare who slotted beyond Guillermo Ochoa. Ajaccio were not done, though, and responded with Lasne volleying over and then Gadji Tallo shaving the post with a free-kick on the stroke of the break. The game remained in the balance heading into the second half and Guingamp returned to the front foot, with Yatabare heading just over from a Mana Dembele cross. It was then Ajaccio's turn to attack again and Lasne again wasted a chance as he broke through, before Tallo cracked in a low drive that was blocked. It would prove to be Ajaccio's last chance to take something as Guingamp made sure they cashed in their next chance, with Beauvue rising the highest to nod in Thibault Giresse's corner.