Valenciennes hit for six

Nantes routed Valenciennes 6-2 to push their hosts further towards the Ligue 1 trapdoor on Sunday.

Nantes routed Valenciennes 6-2 to push their hosts further towards the Ligue 1 trapdoor on Sunday. Stuck in the bottom three and on an alarming run of form, Valenciennes were desperate for a result but their hopes were effectively over by half-time as goals from Johan Audel, Alejandro Bedoya and Serge Gapke put Nantes firmly in control. Gapke's second made it 4-0 early in the second half, and although Carl Medjani and Jean-Christophe Baheback pulled goals back late on, there was still time for a Medjani own goal a Banel Nicolita free-kick to complete the rout. The first chance of the match had fallen to Valenciennes when Remy Riou was forced into a good save by Baheback's fifth-minute free-kick, and the Nantes goalkeeper was in action again in the 20th minute when Maor Melikson broke into the area before shooting low. But Nantes struck with the first clear chance in the 23rd minute when Olivier Veigneau crossed from the left for Audel to fire home an unstoppable volley. Nantes built on that before half-time with two quick goals, the first coming in the 40th minute when Lucas Deaux and Jordan Veretout combined to tee up Bedoya as the defence stood still. They were 3-0 up two minutes later when Gakpe raced from his own half before curling the ball beyond the reach of the goalkeeper. Gakpe doubled his haul in the 54th minute with a curling free-kick into the top corner, but Valenciennes showed signs of improvement in the second half - even if it was too late a 4-0 down. Riou had to keep out Baheback's powerful shot before making a fine save to keep out Mathieu Dossevi's strike after a great ball from Melikson fooled the defence. Gregory Pujol's header then struck the post in the 62nd minute and the hosts finally got their reward when Medjani headed in Melikson's corner 11 minutes from time. They ignited faint hopes of a comeback with a second three minutes later, Baheback volleying home Melikson's free-kick, but Nantes had the final say. The unfortunate Medjani headed into his own net with five minutes left before Nicolita's free-kick found the top corner.