Nantes' blasts from the past

Frédéric Da Rocha kept his nerve from the penalty spot to put FC Nantes Atlantique in the French Cup semi-finals, defying CS Sedan-Ardennes once more.

Controversial penalty
The only member of the current Nantes squad to have played in the 1998/99 French Cup final, when Olivier Monterrubio's controversial penalty secured a 1-0 win against Sedan, the 32-year-old playmaker scored the shoot-out winner last night as Nantes triumphed 6-5 on spot-kicks after a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes.

League momentum
"It was great to hit the net like that," said Da Rocha, whose side have had little to celebrate this season, lying second from bottom in Ligue 1 with a relegation battle on their hands. "Going through in the cup is great and we hope it will give us more confidence for the league." With only Sedan below them, Nantes are five points adrift of Paris Saint-Germain FC and the safety zone having already changed coach twice this term. "We have not given up hope of reaching safety," said Da Rocha. "It will be close, but we've survived in the past."

Shoot-out veteran
The match in Sedan saw Fabien Barthez face the dreaded lottery of penalties for the first time since his France team lost to Italy in agonising style in the 2006 FIFA World Cup final. The veteran goalkeeper came out of retirement to join Nantes in January, and again showed his class against Sedan, saving Nicolas Marin's effort to set up Da Rocha for the deciding conversion. "He was fantastic, especially as he had a sore hip during the warm-up and wasn't sure he could play," said coach Michel Der Zakarian. Barthez added: "If these players are ready to fight to avoid relegation, they will succeed. Mentality is the key."