Ligue 1: Evian remain on track with 1-0 victory over Lorient

Evian's revival continued as Clarck N'Sikulu's goal earned them another victory over a fellow struggler.

After wins over Toulouse, Lens and, on Saturday, Metz lifted them out of the bottom three, Evian climbed to 16th in the Ligue 1 table with a 1-0 victory against Lorient.

N'Sikulu's 25th-minute tap-in also ensured Evian moved above their opponents and three points clear of the relegation zone.

Lorient made the better start and Walid Mesloub forced Benjamin Leroy into an early save, with the goalkeeper then foiling Romain Phillipoteaux.

In between, the hosts showed their threat on the break, with N'Sikulu testing Benjamin Lecomte, and Lorient failed to learn their lesson.

With 25 minutes gone Modou Sougou was released down the right and broke into the area before finding N'Sikulu to tap home at the back post.

The goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of Lorient but they made a promising start to the second half, with Benjamin Jeannot heading straight at Leroy from Mesloub's free-kick.

The visitors appealed vociferously for a penalty on the hour mark.

Leroy saved Jeannot's header and from the rebound Jordan Ayew's shot appeared to hit the hand of Kassim Abdallah, but referee Olivier Thual was unmoved.

Evian went in search of a second and Sougou volleyed over the bar but it was Lorient who continued to offer the greater threat and they came agonisingly close to an equaliser five minutes from time.

Mesloub picked out Jeannot, who finally beat Leroy only to see the ball come back off the post, while a late free-kick from Ayew proved easier to deal with for the Evian keeper as the hosts held on.