Les Merlus edged closer to safety with the victory over St Etienne
Super Eagles striker Terem Moffi scored a brace for Lorient to help them secure an emphatic 6-2 comeback victory against relegation-threatened St Etienne.
Lorient continued their battle to avoid relegation when they welcomed St Etienne to the Stade du Moustoir. The two sides had similar forms going into the game, and the match had a lot of ramifications for both sides, who are in a serious battle to avoid relegation from the French top flight.
Both teams looked hungry right from the start, and it took just four minutes for Denis Bouanga to give St Etienne the lead. Lorient thought they had restored parity when Ibrahima Kone put the ball in the net in the 20h minute, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Just two minutes later, Lorient suffered another heartbreak as Arnaud Nordin increased the visitors’ lead.
It looked like St Etienne would take the lead into halftime, but Moffi and his teammates had other plans. Lorient won a penalty in the 38th minute, and Moffi was on hand to smash it home to make it 2-1.
Then, with a few seconds to halftime, Kone calmly tucked in behind St Etienne keeper Bernardoni to make it 2-2 going into the break.
The second half started with Lorient bossing the game and trying to carve out the St Etienne backline. Their effort finally paid off in the 61st minute, as Enzo Le Fee scored Lorient’s third to complete the comeback.
Nonetheless, Lorient was not done yet, as they brought their ruthlessness to show. Moffi released Kone with a beautiful pass, and the Malian fired home from close range to make it 4-2.
Just when the visitors thought the bad night was over, Moffi showed great skill and scored his second of the game after receiving a pass from Quentin Boisgard.
Boisgard put the final nail in St Etienne’s coffin as his shot beat Bernardoni and went into the net to complete an emphatic 6-2 victory.
The win ensures that Lorient is out of the relegation zone four points above St Etienne, with seven games left.
