Ajaccio are relegated

Ajaccio's relegation to Ligue 2 was confirmed at the hands of neighbours Bastia as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat on Sunday.

Ajaccio's relegation to Ligue 2 was confirmed at the hands of their Corsican neighbours Bastia as they slumped to a 2-1 derby defeat on Sunday. Only a win would have been good enough to delay the inevitable and although Aboubacar Camara put them ahead just five minutes in, Florian Raspentino levelled after half an hour and Sebastien Squillaci delivered the final insult a minute from time as Bastia took all three points. The start could hardly have been better for Ajaccio as Camara rose unmarked to head in Mehdi Mostefa's free-kick, and they might have doubled their lead in the 25th minute when Claude Dielna's free-kick struck the crossbar. But the momentum then swung as Ryad Boudebouz broke away down the right and crossed for Raspentino to head in the equaliser, and only a fine save from Guillermo Ochoa prevented them from leading at half-time as Raspentino was denied a second. The Ajaccio defence left Wahbi Khazri in all sorts of space early in the second half but he failed to make them pay with a header which went wide. The visitors had a couple of chances to regain the lead, but Paul Lasne's free-kick was not too difficult for Mickael Landreau to deal with, before a snap shot from the midfielder flashed wide with five minutes to go. A draw would have sealed Ajaccio's fate but Bastia really rubbed it in, with Squillaci heading home Khazri's 89th-minute free-kick. The defeat, Ajaccio's 20th of the season, leaves them with a measly 20 points from 34 matches.