Troyes 2 Lorient 1: Late Nivet strike settles play-off first leg

Benjamin Nivet struck an injury-time winner as Troyes edged to a 2-1 home win over Lorient in the first leg of the Ligue 1 relegation play-off on Thursday.

Lorient had dominated the first half but they fell behind to a goal against the run of play eight minutes before the half-time interval.

Goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte made an excellent save to deny veteran Nivet from close range, but the ball rebounded kindly for Stephane Darbion to tuck home a neat finish and score for his third successive appearance.

Lorient hit back with just eight minutes to go, Benjamin Moukandjo slotting the ball through for Abdul Majeed Waris, who struck a low shot across the goalkeeper to level the scores.

4 – Benjamin Nivet is involved in four of Troyes’s last seven goals against Lorient in all competitions (3 goals, 1 assist). Eternal.

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) May 25, 2017

But Troyes hit the winner as the clock ticked over into the first minute of injury-time through 40-year-old Nivet, who was bloodied from a head injury sustained earlier in the game.

A defensive header fell kindly for Nivet to step forward and arrow a superb strike into the bottom-right corner to ensure his side have an advantage heading into the second leg on Sunday at Lorient’s home, the Stade du Moustoir.

C’est fini ! L’ESTAC remporte ce match aller des #BarragesLigue1 grâce au duo @stefdarbion et @NivetBenjamin ! RDV dimanche ! #ESTACFCL pic.twitter.com/4bBmen64Jd

— ESTAC Troyes (@estac_officiel) May 25, 2017