PARIS (AP) — Down to eight men, second-division side Nancy reached the last 32 of the French Cup by beating French league side Troyes 4-2 in a penalty shootout after they finished regulation time 1-1 on Saturday.
Troyes is the first Ligue 1 team to get knocked out of the French Cup. Sitting at the bottom of the second division, Nancy had lost its last three games.
“I’m very disappointed we didn’t qualify,” Troyes coach Laurent Batlles said. “We must be able to do much more, both individually and as a team, especially at home in front of our supporters and in our stadium.”
Suk Hyun-jun and Yasser Larouci missed their spot kicks for Troyes, both blazing over the bar.
Troyes midfielder Brandon Domingues scored just before halftime and Nancy striker Andrew Jung equalized in the 64th.
The visitors first lost Maxime Nonnenmacher, who picked up a second yellow card in the 32nd. Then Saliou Ciss got a straight red card for a bad tackle on Nassim Chadli in the 76th. Souleymane Karamoko was ejected for a second booking in stoppage time.
French league sides Lille, Rennes, Nantes and Clermont advanced to the last 32 on Saturday.
League champion Lille defeated second-division team Auxerre 3-1. Lille has high ambitions in the cup as it is virtually out of contention for the league title.
English midfielder Angel Gomes put Lille ahead in the 23rd. Jonathan David, the top scorer in the French league, converted a cross from Burak Yilmaz to double the lead in the 33rd. Zeki Celik made it 3-0 with a diagonal strike in the 39th. Remy Dugimont pulled one back in the 48th for Auxerre, a four-time French Cup winner.
“I really liked the seriousness and the commitment of the players,” Lille coach Jocelyn Gourvennec said. “When you respect the cup and the opponent as we did, you are often rewarded.”
In the only clash between top-division teams, Rennes edged Lorient 1-0. Warmed Omari capitalized on a goalmouth scramble to notch the winner in the 21st. Lorient suffered an eighth straight loss in all competitions and will focus on fighting relegation for the rest of the season.
Nantes needed a save from goalkeeper Remy Descamps to beat second-division side Sochaux 5-4 in a penalty shootout after both teams failed to find the net in regulation time. Descamps stopped the last spot kick taken by Sochaux defender Christophe Diedhiou.
Clermont cruised past seventh-division club Nimes Chemin Bas 4-0 in the most uneven matchup of the round. The game was suspended in the 80th for a few minutes after projectiles were thrown onto the field and a spectator ran across the field, forcing the riot police to come and stand between the touchline and the stands.
On Thursday, Strasbourg edged Valenciennes 1-0.
On Friday, the game between Lyon and Paris FC was abandoned at 1-1 because of crowd violence. At halftime, supporters threw flares, fights broke out in the stands, and the field was invaded. The start of the second half was delayed for about 50 minutes when the stadium authorities announced that the game was abandoned.
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