Four on the spin for Lorient

Maxime Barthelme and Vincent Aboubakar were on target as Lorient claimed a 2-0 win over nine-man Montpellier.

Maxime Barthelme and Vincent Aboubakar were on target as Lorient claimed their fourth successive win with a 2-0 result against nine-man Montpellier at Stade de la Mosson. The win also sees Les Merlus record their seventh straight clean sheet in all competitions as Christian Gourcuff saw his side move up to 12th in Ligue 1. Hilton and Abdelhamid El Kaoutari saw red for Jean Fernandez's men in the dying minutes and the defeat leaves them just outside the relegation zone in 17th after a winless run of seven league games. The home side started brightest and good combination from Morgan Sanson and Remy Cabella found Anthony Mounier on the left side of the penalty area as he tried his luck but Lorient goalkeeper Florent Chaigneau blocked. The visitors did not take long to settle and Aboubakar came close as he collected Maxime Barthelme's cross at the edge of the box before firing his volley just wide of the post. Again Lorient were on the attack and Gilles Sunu combined with Barthelme near the penalty area as the latter crossed again toward Aboubakar but defender Siaka Tiene put in a superb block. On the brink of half-time Tiene's free-kick just outside the penalty area made its way to Daniel Congre, however his header was unfortunate to sail inches over the bar. But just three minutes after the break the away side took the lead. Barthelme collected the ball from Aboubakar inside the penalty area and controlled it well before beating La Paillade stopper Geoffrey Jourdren with his close-range effort striking the back of the net. Deep into the second half Aboubakar freed Barthelme at the edge of the penalty area, who had a great chance to double the lead but his shot hit the post. And the home side came looking for an equaliser as Cabella retrieved the ball from the Lorient defenders and then immediately freed Montano for a clever shot but Chaigneau was well placed to deny him. Hilton was sent off with a minute to go for a tackle on Fabien Robert leaving them disadvantaged for the four minutes of stoppage time. Three minutes later, El Kaoutari also saw red for the home side for a foul on Sadio Diallo. Aboubakar scored the resulting penalty with a shot to the left, beating Jourdren, who dived the right way but could not hold the ball out.