Minnows Colmar stun Lille in French Cup

An under-strength Lille crashed out of the French Cup in the round of 64 on Saturday after losing an epic penalty shootout 10-9 to 10-man Colmar of the Championnat de France Amateurs (fourth tier).

The game finished 0-0 after 90 minutes and Colmar, who play in the same division as Lille’s reserves, were forced to play extra time with 10 men after midfielder Cedric Faivre was shown a second yellow card for attempting to score with his hand.

The extra 30 minutes also failed to yield a goal and after each side scored four penalties in the shootout, sudden death ensued.

Lille captain Stephane Dumont, who scored his first penalty, drilled his side’s 11th spotkick against the post, enabling Salim Mezriche to put his team into the next round and dump Ligue 1’s third-placed side out of the competition.

“My feelings are slightly mixed because I would have preferred to play against Lille’s real first team, which I’ve been admiring for the past few weeks on the TV,” said Colmar coach Damien Ott.

“Anyway, I’m amazed by what my players did at 10 v 11.”

Lille’s defeat came on the back of a 2-1 league loss at Sochaux, which had brought an eight-game winning run to an end.

“This kind of result is part of the cup,” said Lille coach Rudi Garcia. “I’d just like to congratulate my young players for doing what I expected of them.”

It was Colmar’s second consecutive penalty shootout success in the tournament, after their victory over second-tier Metz in the previous round.

They will play Ligue 1 strugglers Boulogne-sur-Mer in the next round.

The top-flight’s bottom club Grenoble turned the tables on the season’s surprise package Montpellier, beating them 3-2 after extra time to join Colmar in the last 32.

The sides were drawing 1-1 at half-time and 2-2 at full-time, but Nassim Akrour struck just before the extra time interval to prolong Grenoble’s cup adventure.

“This qualification is a little ray of sunshine for us,” said Grenoble coach Mecha Bazdarevic, whose side are 13 points from safety in the league.

“It was a real cup tie in every sense.”

Earlier, Beauvais of the Championnat National (third tier) booked their place in the last 16 by beating nine-man Agen 3-0.

Rennes, last season’s beaten finalists, were the first side to qualify for the round of 16 when they won 4-0 at fifth-division Saumur on Friday evening.

Defending French champions and current league leaders Bordeaux take on Corsican Ligue 2 outfit Ajaccio later on Saturday.