Diabate hat-trick seals success

Cheick Diabate scored a first half hat-trick as Bordeaux claimed a 5-1 win against Guingamp on Sunday.

Cheick Diabate scored a first half hat-trick as Bordeaux claimed a 5-1 win against Guingamp on Sunday. Diabate fired the home side to a 3-0 lead in the 25th minute before Moustapha Diallo clawed one back for the Ligue 1 strugglers just before the half hour mark. However, the visitors' foothold in the game slipped after the break, with a further score by Jussie and Diego Rolan's penalty wrapping up a comprehensive victory for Les Girondins, who returned to winning ways following five successive draws. The result is sure to leave Guingamp looking over their shoulder and down at the bottom three, which they are only above thanks to their two-point advantage over Sochaux. Diabate got his side off to the perfect start in the eighth minute when Gregory Sertic raced down the right and crossed accurately towards the goal where the striker cut in the ball to beat Guingamp keeper Mamadou Samassa. The Mali international then doubled his tally, and Bordeaux's lead, 12 minutes later when Jussie broke down the left wing and linked up with Nicolas Maurice-Belay, who was on the edge of the area and flicked on to Diabate for a close range score. Diabate claimed his hat-trick in the 25th minute when he headed past Samassa while unmarked in the box but Guingamp did not let their heads drop and pulled one back soon after through Diallo. Fatih Atik took a free-kick from 30 yards out and picked out Diallo in front of goal, who fired in a powerful header in the 28th minute. The minor setback did not faze Bordeaux, though, with their three-goal cushion quickly restored after the break when Lucas Orban crossed the ball into the box where Jussie got a touch in a goalmouth scramble. Rolan tried his luck from 20 yards but Samassa made an excellent save, however another goal seemed to be on the cards and it was Rolan who provided it for the home side, albeit from the penalty spot after Gregory Cerdan handled the ball in the area in the 67th minute.