Montpellier struck in injury time of both the first and second halves to record their first win of the season this evening, running out 2-1 winners over Sochaux.
Sochaux came close in the 10th minute when Cedric Bakambu's volley from a tight angle hit the underside of the bar and bounced out.
A largely uneventful first half then had plenty of late drama as Sochaux took the lead through Roy Contout just a minute before the break only for Hilton to restore parity in the second minute of injury time.
The visitors were reduced to 10 men with just over 15 minutes remaining as Cedric Kante was shown a straight red for a tackle on Remy Cabella, and Montpellier eventually took advantage in the 93rd minute when a botched clearance allowed Siaka Tiene to score the winner.
You can read how a dramatic 90 minutes unfolded with Sports Mole's live coverage below.
Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for the Ligue 1 clash between Montpellier and Sochaux as both sides look to claim their first wins of the new season. Let's get straight down to business.
We'll start by looking at the hosts tonight, and Montpellier could not have had a harder start to the season. They have come up against the two powerhouses of French football at the moment and may feel quite happy at having come away with a point.
That point came on the opening day of the season as they pulled off an impressive 1-1 draw at home to PSG. If their confidence was sky high after that draw, they were brought down to earth with a bump against Monaco, who ran out comfortable 4-1 winners in their last outing.
Having such challenging matches so soon in the season can go one of two ways. On the one hand, if you get thoroughly outplayed on both occasions then your season has got off to a poor start and it is hard to recover. However, if you perform well in the early matches then some of the toughest games are out of the way without too much damage, and you can go about building confidence. For Montpellier, I think it has been a bit of both. The 1-1 draw against PSG will have certainly buoyed them, but Monaco put them back in their place soon afterwards and it will be interesting to see how the hosts bounce back from that.
Those matches have, however, left Montpellier in a bad position after two games. They sit 19th in the table with just a solitary point and minus three goal difference. This afternoon's match will be one that manager Jean Fernandez looks at as the real start of the season as they have a very good chance of winning this one.
Sochaux are in a similar boat to Montpellier in that they have also picked up just one point from their opening two games. They too opened their campaign with a 1-1 draw, sharing the spoils with Evian TG, before a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Lyon.
Those two results have left Sochaux 16th in the table with minus two goal difference. However, despite being higher than today's opponents, you'd have to say that Montpellier are in the better position having got the two toughest matches out of the way already.
Sochaux finished last season in 15th places with 41 points. That left them 11 points behind Montpellier's ninth-placed finish, which should give you some idea as to how these two teams stack up against each other. Sochaux will be desperate to get their first win of the new season this afternoon, but they will not be entering the match as favourites, that is for sure.
TEAM NEWS: The team news is in for both sides, and I can tell you that Victor Montano, who scored Montpellier's only goal against Monaco, maintains his spot while Remy Cabella, their other goalscorer this season, has to be content with a place on the bench. Similarly for Sochaux, their solitary goalscorer against Lyon, Ryad Boudebouz, is left on the bench while Roy Contout, who scored against Evian, starts. Full team news coming right up.
MONTPELLIER STARTING XI: Pionnier; Deplagne, Hilton, Tiene, Mezague; Stambouli, Marveaux, Martin, Camara, Bakar; Montano
MONTPELLIER SUBS: Ligali, Di Stefano, Cabella, Dabo, Sanson, Mounier, Herrera
SOCHAUX STARTING XI: Pouplin; Kante, Doubai, Faussurier, Corchia; Eickman, Carlao, Bakambu, Roudet, Contout; Nogueira
SOCHAUX SUBS: Cros, Boudebouz, Camara, Peybernes, Prcic, Poujol, Boumal
Both sides could end today as high as fourth in the table with a win. It is, of course, still very early in the season, but making a good start and being around the top end rather than the bottom end of the table can make a difference psychologically even this early in the campaign. Today is a chance for both sides to kick-start their seasons.
PREDICTION: With five minutes to go until kickoff, it is about time for my prediction. Both teams may be in a similar position going into the match, but I don't expect that to be the case when the 90 minutes is up. After a tough start, this should be the game that starts Montpellier's season, and I think that they will run out fairly comfortable 2-0 winners.
These two sides met three times last season, with Montpellier coming out on top on both occasions in the league. They won the away match 3-1 before beating Sochaux 2-0 in the corresponding fixture to this match. Sochaux did pick up a win in the cup, however, winning 3-2 after extra time.
Overall, these two sides have met 22 times, picking up nine wins apiece with four draws. Sochaux haven't won here, however, since 2004.
KICKOFF: The hosts get us underway on a very hot evening in Montpellier as referee Alexandre Castro blows his whistle to start the match.
It has been a low key start to the match as Montpellier control the ball and pass it side to side. The hosts have enjoyed the lion's share of possession in the opening stages, but most of it has been in their own half.
Deplagne comes in with a fine crunching challenge on the touchline but the referee blows for a free kick! It was a heavy tackle, for sure, but there was nothing illegal about it and it would be a shame to see such challenges kicked out of the game.
All of Montpellier's slick passing in the early stages has taken place in their own half, and they let themselves down eventually by hoofing it forward towards the strikers, who have very little chance of making anything out of such aimless balls. Still very early days, however.
Just a hint of an opening for Sochaux as a clipped ball forward is brilliantly brought down by Roudet, but the defence is able to get back just in time to clear.
CLOSE! That is the closest we have come so far, and it is almost a calamitous own goal! A dragged shot looks to be going harmlessly wide until Hilton swipes at it, slicing the ball just past his own post.
OFF THE BAR! Sochaux are inches away from taking the lead! Bakambu shows good strength to hold off his man inside the penalty area before unleashing a vicious half volley from the tightest of angles. It is a great strike and Pionnier may just have got a fingertip to push it onto the underside of bar there. If so, that is a great save.
CHANCE! A long through ball finds Bakar racing in off the left flank to streak clear of the defence, but his first touch lets him down and robs him of the momentum. That allows the defence to get back and crowd him out before eventually clearing the ball.
Things have just calmed down since that slightly manic couple of minutes. Montpellier have settled back into their dominant rhythm, but Sochaux have already shown that they can be dangerous given the chance.
Martin takes a tumble under the challenge of Carlao, and now Montpellier have a free kick in a very good crossing position. Can they make anything of it?
No. The ball is into a dangerous area, but Carlao makes up for committing the foul with a towering header clear.
The crowd is fairly sparse inside this 33,000 seater stadium, but those who are here are making a decent noise. A goal would really get them shouting, but it hasn't looked like coming since that flurry of chances around 10 minutes ago.
UPDATE: Elsewhere in France, Rennes have taken the lead against Evian TG courtesy of a Nelson Oliveira penalty, while Guingamp lead Lorient 1-0 thanks to a Mustapha Yatabare goal.
Play just opens up for Martin in a promising position on the edge of the box after some silky skills from Bakar. Martin takes a touch before shooting, but his shot is well blocked.
Montano believes that he has been fouled on the halfway line and, for as moment, everybody stops as they expect the whistle to be blown. The ref doesn't award the free kick, however, and Montano suddenly bursts back into action as he looks to set up an attack.
It has been quite a dull opening half an hour to be honest, apart from a spell of five minutes or so that saw a chance for either side and Sochaux hit the bar. That Bakambu strike is still the closest we have come to seeing a goal here.
Good defending from Deplagne there as he gets an important header to a cross with Roudet lurking at the back post. He needed to get a touch on that otherwise the Sochaux man would have had a clear chance.
UPDATE: Bordeaux have taken the lead at home to Bastia and it is Henri Saivet who has got the goal.
UPDATE: Meanwhile, Rennes have doubled their lead against Evian TG. They now lead 2-0, which would be a fine result away from home.
SHOT! Bright piece of play from Roudet as he takes the ball down on the left side of the box before cutting back inside and shooting towards the near post. He should have hit that across the goalkeeper instead of looking to drag it at the near post, at the very least he may have created a difficult rebound for Montpellier to deal with.
Fine tackle from Carlao inside the box just as a chance appeared to be opening up for Montano. The Brazilian had to get that tackle exactly right, and his timing couldn't have been better.
SAVE! It is a routine save from Pouplin, but it is also better work from Montpellier. Stambouli went storming through the middle with a strong run before leaving the ball for Bako around 25 yards from goal. The winger shaped up to curl it first time, but his shot was straight at the keeper who held on to it with ease.
YELLOW CARD! The first booking of the night goes Marveaux's way, and the referee makes sure that he knows it was for a totting up offence.
GOAL! Montpellier 0-1 Sochaux (Roy Contout)
There is the breakthrough, and it goes Sochaux's way! A free kick is headed back across goal and initially Contout completely misses the ball with his first attempt. He keeps his composure, however, and drags the ball back before firing it through a mass of bodies to give his side the lead.
YELLOW CARD! Contout has only just scored, but now he goes in the book for a blatant trip on Martin.
GOAL! Montpellier 1-1 Sochaux (Hilton)
Unbelievable stuff at the end of this half! Just minutes after going behind, Hilton fires his side back level with a fine strike! Martin did the hard work down the right flank and his cross was only cleared as far as the Brazilian, who took it down, beat a man, and then leathered it into the corner from 25 yards.
HALF TIME: Montpellier 1-1 Sochaux
Well, five minutes ago I was preparing to write what an uneventful half of football it has been, but that spell at the end of the half has changed my mind! Great drama late on as Sochaux take the lead a little over one minute before the break, only for Montpellier to hit back immediately!
Up until that moment, the closest we had come to a goal was when Bakambu's volley from a tight angle came off the underside of the bar. We almost saw an own goal as well but, those moments apart, for 43 minutes this was a pretty poor game of football.
Hopefully that little flurry will spice things up for the second half. Montpellier will probably be the happier side at the break having responded so quickly, and they will hope to use any momentum that is left after the break to make a fast start to the second period. As for Sochaux, the ecstasy at having taken the lead was short lived, but they have shown that they are capable of scoring so will back themselves to do so again. This match is very finely poised.
The teams are on their way back out onto the field now for this second half, and they will both fancy their chances after that opening 45 minutes. Can either side find their first win of the season?
KICKOFF: Sochaux get us back underway and immediately proceed to hoof the ball out of play. Not the best start to the half.
UPDATE: It has been a good start to the second half for Guingamp, who have doubled their lead against Lorient through Yatabare's second of the match. It is now 2-0 there.
Sochaux have a free kick in a good position here, although they may be in two minds whether to shoot or cross. In the end Roudet goes for the cross but over-hits it and it flies out for a goal kick. That was a wasted opportunity.
UPDATE: Evian TG have pulled a goal back against Rennes, with Kevin Berigaud making it 2-1 at Parc des Sports.
YELLOW CARD! Eickmayer is the latest player to go into the referee's notebook, and he can have no complaints. It was a cynical foul just as Montpellier were threatening to break clear, and they are always going to draw yellow cards.
YELLOW CARD! A second yellow in quick succession is shown to a Sochaux player, this time Corchia for a rash, mistimed tackle. Again, he can have no complaints.
SHOT! Montano has half a chance as the ball falls to him inside the box. He takes it down well and volleys towards goal on the swivel but can't keep the shot down.
MONTPELLIER SUB: The first change of the day comes from the hosts as Martin makes way for Remy Cabella, who scored their only goal of the match against PSG.
A cross into the box is headed out but only as far as Doubai, who attempts an ambitious volley from the edge of the box. It did fall invitingly for him, but it was always going to be a tough chance as unsurprisingly he scuffs it wide.
SHOT! Montano takes the ball down on the edge of the box and tees up Tiene, who is licking his lips at the chance to strike it from range. He goals for goal first time, but cuts across the ball and sends it a few yards wide.
We still haven't had a really clear sight of goal in this second half. It has fallen into a similar rhythm to the majority of the first half, although I wouldn't say no to a similar ending!
Good defending from Tiene, who ensures that he is in front of Contout at all times to deal with a good, deep cross into the box. The full-back slides in to send it behind for a corner, and he had to be alert because Contout was waiting to pounce on any slip up.
MONTPELLIER SUB: Second change of the night for the hosts as Anthony Mounier comes on for Bakar. Can his fresh legs make the difference here?
Very nervy moment from Deplagne! He goes for a headed back pass to the keeper when it really isn't on and with Roudet in close attendance. Sure enough, he under-hits it by a long way and allows the Sochaux man in. In his haste to get back, Deplagne appears to pull Roudet back, but he doesn't make a meal of it and probably wishes he did as the chance goes begging.
RED CARD! Out of nothing, Kante gets a red card from the ref! He came right through the back of Cabella but initially the ref took him to one side and seemed to only give him a warning. A second or so later, however, he calls him back across and flashes the red card! It was a bad tackle, for sure, but a red seems a little harsh to me.
SOCHAUX SUB: Eric Hely responds with an immediate sub in order to plug the gap left by Kante. On comes Mathieu Peybaernes in place of Bakambu, who is the unlucky one sacrificed.
It will be interesting to see how Sochaux approach this match now. A draw away to Montpellier would have been a decent result for them before the match and now, with 10 men, it would be a very good result, but they were very much in with a chance of winning the match before that red card. They will probably go all-out defence now, but I wouldn't be too surprised to see them venture forward a little more than they usually would with 10 men.
MONTPELLIER SUB: This is a very attacking change from Montpellier, who can smell blood now. On comes Emanuel Herrera, a striker, to replace Marveaux, a holding midfielder.
Unsurprisingly, Montpellier are dominating possession now, but they are finding it hard to break down a Sochaux side intent on defending in numbers.
YELLOW CARD! Montano becomes the latest player to enter the referee's notebook as he caught an opponent's face with a high boot. It was a genuine attempt for the ball, but it didn't look pretty.
Montpellier haven't gone to all-out attack just yet, but it can't be long before they do so. They have a great chance to win this match with Sochaux down to 10 men and it would be a missed opportunity if they didn't really push for a win. They are in little danger of conceding as Sochaux aren't committing many men forward at the moment.
Of course, Jean Fernandez will know that this is far from a 'must-win' game, but it is certainly won they could, and perhaps now should win. A draw would seem like two points lost rather than one gained.
Oh that is a sign of bad luck for Montpellier. The ball sits up nicely for Tiene just inside the box, but his goalbound effort struck Herrera and went out for a goal kick. Had that not hit his own man that would have really troubled the keeper.
We will have four minutes of added time at the end of this second half. We saw how much drama there was at the end of the first 45 minutes, is there any to coming in the closing stages here?
Here comes the kitchen sink from Montpellier! They are piling bodies forward and Mounier sends a low ball right across the area that nobody can get on the end of. Agonising stuff for the hosts.
SOCHAUX SUB: Some classic time-wasting here as Sochaux make a late change, bringing on Razzagui for Roudet.
GOAL! Montpellier 2-1 Sochaux (Siaka Tiene)
More late drama at the end of a half in this match! Montpellier grab what will surely be the winner after some dodgy Sochaux defending. A high ball upfield fell loose in the middle of the box and Peybernes had a chance to clear it, but only got a tiny part of the ball which diverted it into the path of Tiene, who hammers it into the bottom corner. Great late drama once more!
FULL TIME: Montpellier 2-1 Sochaux
My word, these two save their drama for late on, don't they?! Tiene's goal was virtually the last kick of the match, and it is not one that Peybernes will want to see again in a hurry. Had he simply kicked that ball properly, his side would have a point now. It was a simple clearance, but he didn't make it and Tiene took full advantage.
For Montpellier, it is a morale-boosting first win of the season, but for Sochaux it is a devastating defeat having conceded deep into injury in both the first half and the second half. They are still looking for their first win of the season, but they came so close to pulling off what would've been an impressive draw with just 10 men.
To recap the major moments of the match, Sochaux hit the bar through Bakambu in a rare highlight from the first 43 minutes. The visitors took the lead just before half time courtesy of Roy Contout, but were immediately pegged back in stoppage time by a fine Hilton strike. Sochaux were reduced to 10 men when Kante was shown a straight red in the second half, and Montpellier went on to nick a late winner through Tiene.
Right, that is all from me tonight. Thank you for joining Sports Mole for what was a strange game of football. For large periods it was dull, but the ending of both halves held a lot of drama and it turned out to be anything but uneventful! Be sure to stick around for any new or reaction, and we'll have plenty more live football coming your way tomorrow. From me, though, it is good night!
Written by
Barney Corkhill
Barney Corkhill
