French Cup glory run ends for village club Schirrhein

Village team Schirrhein were thumped 8-0 by first division Toulouse on Saturday to end their French Cup glory which put the side near the German border firmly on the map.

Schirrhein, the first seventh-tier team to reach the last 32 of the competition in its 91-year history fell to goals from Danish striker Soren Larsen (four), plus others by Daniel Congre, Andre-Pierre Gignac, Moussa Sissoko and Daniel Braaten.

Coach Herve Sturm admitted the odds had always been firmly in the favour of visitors Toulouse, in fifth spot in the first division and who played in the Champions League last season.

“In this type of match, a little club does not have a lot of chance of going through and runs the risk of a real thumping,” Sturm said.

The smallest club now left in the competition is sixth-flight Grande-Synthe who host Grenoble on Sunday.

Lyon beat Concarneau at Guingamp 6-0 in a last 64 match, although they had injuries to Juninho, John Mensah, Kim Kallstrom and Ederson, with Anthony Mounier scoring twice. Lyon now host Marseille on Wednesday in the last 32.

Rennes host Saint Etienne later on Saturday, and Sunday sees Le Havre hosting Le Mans and the south coast derby between Monaco and Nice.