Saint-Etienne missed the chance to move further away from the
relegation zone when it drew 0-0 at home to Rennes in the French
league on Tuesday.
Boubacar Sanogo almost won the match for Saint-Etienne in the
last minute but Rennes goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez did well to kick
away his goal-bound shot.
Saint-Etienne showed just why it was struggling and did not
muster a shot on target until Guiranne N'Daw's tame free kick was
saved easily by Douchez in the 76th.
The draw meant both teams failed to gain any ground. Rennes
remained in ninth place with 31 points from 21 games, while
Saint-Etienne was one place above the relegation zone in 17th place
with 20 - just four points ahead of Le Mans in 18th.
Rennes striker Jimmy Briand, trying to force his way back
into the France squad after recovering from a long-term knee
injury, raced through early on and only a fine tackle from Yohan
Benalouane deprived him of a scoring opportunity.
But in a game of few chances played in heavy fog at Stade
Geffroy-Guichard, Rennes waited until the 48th minute to test
Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Jeremie Janot, who did well to parry a
shot from striker Moussa Sow.
On Wednesday, French leader Bordeaux travels to play
last-place Grenoble, and second-place Lille is at Sochaux.
Lille has scored 26 goals in the last seven league games, and
has managed to tally at least three goals in each of its last 10
games in all competitions.
Bordeaux has 44 points, Lille 37 and Montpellier was in third
spot with 36. All have played 20 games. Marseille has played 19
matches and was in fourth with 33.
In Wednesday's other games, it is: Lens vs. Montpellier;
Lorient vs. Lyon; Marseille vs. Le Mans; Nice vs. Auxerre; Paris
Saint-Germain vs. Monaco; Toulouse vs. Nancy; and Boulogne vs.
Valenciennes.
