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The French winger scored in the second half to give Nantes all three points
French winger Ludovic Blas scored after 66 minutes to give Nantes a deserved 1-0 win over Lorient in Ligue 1.
Les Canaris were the better side and dominated possession until the second half when they scored and dropped back to defend their lead, but were well worth their victory over Lorient.
In a game that did not have too many sparks, Nantes would be thrilled to get all three points as they look to leave the relegation fight early.
How it happened
A drab first half saw Nantes control 53% of possession without creating any meaningful chances as Lorient defended their goal expertly and even almost took the lead with the best chance of the first period.
Lorient attacking midfielder, Julien Ponceau, found himself in space in the 18-yard box but saw his effort saved comfortably by Alban Lafont in the Nates goal.
The second half was an antithesis to the first and saw no less than five big chances created between the two teams, with Lorient creating three thanks to Nantes dropping deep to defend their lead.
Before Nantes took the lead, they had already come close to scoring through Andy Delort who forced Vito Manone into two good saves in quick succession on the hour mark.
Just six minutes after that Manone was finally beaten as Blas unleashed a rocket of a left-footed shot from the edge of the area to make it 1-0 to the hosts.
From then on, Nantes tried to manage the game while trusting their defence, but many close shaves could have robbed them of two points.
First Lorient’s January signing Bamba Dieng had to be denied by a last ditch block after he looked certain to score, and then right at the death, Ivorian defender Bamo Meïté could only watch as his header from point-blank range sailed wide of goal.
Nantes held on for all three points, and will be grateful to their defence and goalkeeper once again for rescuing them from further dropped points.
Nantes closer to Ligue 1 safety.
Nantes’ victory leaves them on 28 points in the league, 10 points away from Strasbourg in 17th which is the first relegation place for this season’s Ligue 1.
Les Canaris have only lost once in their last six Ligue 1 games, and their impressive form has helped them to move further away from the ugliness of a relegation dogfight and this last victory will certainly go a long way to easing any fear of relapsing to their early season form.
They have also kept an astonishing five cleansheets in the last six Ligue 1 matches and will be hoping that an injury to JEan Charles Castelletto will not hamper further shut-outs.
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