Football: Third division Paris FC cause French Cup shock

   PARIS, January 7, 2008 Third division Paris FC beat Toulouse, who
played in the Champions League qualifiers this season, 2-1 on Sunday to cause the biggest shock of the weekend in French Cup action.
   The amateur side, coached by Jean-Guy Wallemme who captained Lens to the 1998 French league title, earned their passage to the next round, joining
Lyon, Paris Saint Germain, Marseille, and Auxerre in the last 32.
   French first division strugglers Lens, coached by former international
striker Jean-Pierre Papin, however slumped to a new low on Friday when they
were dumped out by second division Niort.
   For Paris FC, victory at first division Toulouse put them on the map.
   "This success will get Paris FC talked about more because sometimes we have trouble holding our own alongside PSG," said Wallemme. "The attention this victory has brought is super for everyone at the club."
   Toulouse captain Dominique Arribage scored an own goal on six minutes but
his side were back in the match just a minute later thanks to a header from
midfielder Moussa Sissoko.
   Paris FC had to wait till an hour had gone for the winner however when Pape
Sarr found the net.
   Toulouse had several clear-cut chances but were unable to convert them into
goals.
   "We had the chance to kill the match in the first half and we were not able
to do so," said Toulouse coach Elie Baup. "We payed for that lapse."
   Reigning six-times French champions Lyon romped into the next round with a
4-0 away victory against third division Creteil, with Karim Benzema scoring a
hat-trick and Juninho getting the other.
   On Saturday, French league strugglers Marseille and Paris Saint Germain
kick-started the New Year on a winning note.
   Marseille beat minnows Beauvais 2-0 to book their ticket while Paris Saint
Germain also won 2-0 at Epinal.
   It was welcome success for Marseille and PSG, who, although normally among France’s most successful clubs, find themselves in the bottom half of the league table.
   Ten-time French Cup champions Marseille had little trouble in brushing
aside their national division club opponents as first-half goals from Lorik
Cana and Djibril Cisse went unanswered.
   PSG, who have won the French Cup on seven occasions, thanked first half
goals from Clement Chantome and Sylvain Armand for their 2-1 victory over
fourth division club Epinal.
   "Mission accomplished," said under-fire PSG coach Paul Le Guen.
   "It’s good because the conditions were a little difficult with a tricky
pitch. This could have been a booby-trap for us but we came through it well."
   Caen, fourth in the top flight, were knocked out by second division Sedan
3-2.
   Alexandre Bonnet, Moussa Sow and Djamel Abdoun were on target for Sedan
with Lilian Compan and Yoan Gouffran finding the net for the top flight UEFA
Cup hopefuls. It was Caen’s first defeat in two months.
   On Friday, Lens, third from bottom in the top flight, were undone by a
30th-minute strike from Jean-Francois Riviere in what proved to be the only
goal of the game.

AFP