Auxerre vs. Grenoble

Ten minutes of surprising competence from the visiting side kicked this match off, but for all their offensive efforts, only Laurent Courtois could test Olivier Sorin in the home goal, forcing the custodian to turn the ball wide early in the match.

As Auxerre battled their way back into the game, they were given a heavy set-back after only 20 minutes when Ireneusz Jelen was dismissed for his reacting to a challenge made by David Jemmali, who would also see red. Daniel Niculae nearly found the net for AJA, but his fine solo work was undone by Ronan Le Crom, who blocked his shot.

It seemed that Auxerre would toil to find an opening goal, but after 63 minutes it dually arrived, with Benoit Pedretti benefiting from a poor clearance to drill a low shot into the visitor’s net.

Grenoble took a more aggressive stance after going behind, and a fine free kick from Sofiane Feghouli, who is still looking for his first top flight goal, was only blocked from finding the net by a fine save.

Such expansive play doesn’t suit GF38, and they were punished as Auxerre launched a sweeping counterattack, with Niculae’s shot that hit the post followed up by Cedric Hengbart, who tapped home to seal the points.