Evian edge towards safety

Evian all but assured themselves of Ligue 1 football next season by beating Valenciennes 2-0.

Evian all but assured themselves of Ligue 1 football next season by beating Valenciennes on Saturday evening. Goals in the opening 12 minutes from Saber Khelifa and Fabrice Ehret made it back-to-back wins in the league for Pascal Dupraz's men. The result means Evian are three points above the drop zone with one round remaining but they have a healthier goal difference than third-from-bottom Troyes, who also won tonight. Evian round off the campaign at Bordeaux while Troyes travel to Valenciennes. With their Ligue 1 future at stake, the hosts made the perfect start with the opening goal after just two minutes. Daniel Wass played in Khelifa, who smashed a 25-yard drive past Valenciennes goalkeeper Nicolas Penneteau. Khelifa then set up a second goal 10 minutes later, delivering a superb pass into the area for Ehret to tuck the ball away from a few yards out. Evian continued to boss the first half and only the quick actions of Penneteau prevented them from adding to their tally, with the Valenciennes keeper palming away a low effort from Khelifa before Kevin Berigaud saw his angled shot saved on the stroke of half-time. The home side continued to push for goals after the interval and Berigaud saw another opening cleared off the line in the 57th minute after trying to finish a fine pass from Brice Djadjedje. Valenciennes' defence came under fire again 12 minutes later, once again sweeping away the danger after Berigaud had teed up Mohammed Rabiu. Khelifa then tried his luck from 25 yards with a powerful right-footed strike which almost caught Penneteau off guard. The visitors produced little in response until the final stages, when Gael Danic was unfortunate not to add his name to the scoresheet with his free-kick tipped away at full stretch by Evian goalkeeper Bertrand Laquait.