France round-up: Crucial win for Troyes

Ligue 1 bottom side ES Troyes Aube Champagne earned a valuable 2-0 win against fellow strugglers Lille OSC.

Penalty converted
In a match postponed from Saturday due to freezing conditions, Troyes made a perfect start when Lille's Abdelilah Fahmi tugged Gérald Baticle's shirt in the penalty area, and Nicolas Goussé converted from the spot.

Troyes go close
Rafik Saïfi then went close on 23 minutes when he took up a good position but did not fully connect with a Karim Ziani free-kick. Ziani himself shot just over a minute before half-time.

Lead doubled
However, Troyes did not have cause to regret these misses as, with 32 minutes left, Ziani beat the Lille defence and crossed to Saïfi, who wrong-footed Lille goalkeeper Grégory Wimbée and doubled the lead.

Gap narrows
Goussé hit the post with five minutes remaining, but Troyes had done more than enough to secure the win, which moves them to within a point of Montpellier Hérault SC. Lille remain 16th, only a point above the relegation zone.