Valenciennes

6-5-4
6th in French Ligue 2

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Sources: LA Galaxy to sign French youngster

2Y
Julien Laurens

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Valenciennes eye Diedhiou & Cabral

5Y
Ed Dove, KweséESPN

Senegalese starlet Diouf joins Leganes

6Y
Ed Dove, KweséESPN

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Valenciennes boss gets ban for sexist ref rant

7Y
Mark Rodden

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Valenciennes boss sorry over sexist ref rant

7Y
Mark Rodden

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Toulouse 3-1 Valenciennes

Toulouse ended the Ligue 1 season in the top half of the table after beating relegated Valenciennes 3-1 thanks to a Wissam Ben Yedder hat-trick.Despite securing their continued presence in the top flight some weeks ago, Le Tefece were sliding towards a lowly finish having failed to win any of their last eight games.But Ben Yedder scored all three goals to register his second hat-trick of the campaign while Ligue 2 bound Valenciennes signed off with a goal from Anthony Le Tallec.It took Toulouse 30 minutes to open the scoring through Ben Yedder.Martin Braithwaite did most of the leg work, dribbling around Lindsay Rose before picking out his unmarked team-mate for an easy finish from six yards.Toulouse won a penalty just before half-time as Rose fouled Braithwaite. VA goalkeeper Nicolas Penneteau dived the the right but Ben Yedder had beaten him with a spot-kick fired right down the middle.Valenciennes almost notched in the 51st minute, Marco Da Silva clattering the crossbar with a shot from 20 yards.The northerners would halve the deficit three minutes from time to give travelling fans some reason to be cheerful.Le Tallec had Arthur Masuaku to thank for providing the killer cross that allowed him to head home through a throng of Toulouse defenders.If VA were plotting a late comeback, their plans were foiled by Ben Yedder, who claimed the match ball on the stroke of full-time when controlling Dusan Veskovac's cross and slamming the ball into the net.With 16 goals for the season, Ben Yedder finished behind only Paris St Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the Ligue 1 scoring charts, although he must share second place with Marseille's Andre-Pierre Gignac.ends

9Y
PA Sport

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Valenciennes 1-2 AS Monaco

Nabil Dirar's late strike saw Monaco scrape a 2-1 victory at relegated Valenciennes in an effectively dead rubber Ligue 1 contest.Valere Germain put the visitors in front five minutes before the break but Claudio Ranieri's men looked set for a second successive 1-1 draw with lowly opposition - following their home clash with Guingamp on Wednesday - when Tongo Doumbia levelled with 20 minutes to go.Dirar then came to their rescue, firing past Nicolas Penneteau in fine style in the 87th minute.With the 19th-placed hosts already down and their opponents guaranteed to finish as runners-up behind champions Paris St Germain, there was little play to for.But Valenciennes made a positive start, with Majeed Waris calling goalkeeper Sergio Romero into action with a shot in the opening few seconds.Monaco hit back in the 10th minute as Germain rattled a powerful strike against the crossbar.There was another chance for Monaco seven minutes later, with Yannick Ferreira Carrasco through on goal but denied by a fabulous save from the outrushing Penneteau.The game then became the more subdued affair that might have been expected, until the 40th minute, when Ferreira-Carrasco provided the tee up with a great corner delivery from which Germain converted past the helpless Penneteau.Germain tried his luck again soon after the break with Valenciennes having given away possession, but his shot was well blocked by Carl Medjani.The equaliser arrived when Arthur Masuaku plays a perfect low cross into the Monaco box and Doumbia applied a cool, left-footed finish.And Valenciennes might have turned the game on its head within eight minutes as Waris played a back heel into the path of Gregory Pujol and the Monaco defence managed to put in a goal-saving block to keep the shot out from six yards.The away side then came close to reclaiming the lead as Penneteau denied Germain.But Monaco did go ahead soon after, Dirar cracking in a sublime effort that gave the goalkeeper no chance.ends

9Y
PA Sport

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Valenciennes 0-1 Bordeaux

Julien Faubert confirmed Valenciennes' relegation from Ligue 1 after his late goal secured a 1-0 win for Bordeaux at the Stade du Hainaut.Going into the game the hosts - present in the top flight since 2006 - knew they needed a miracle to pull themselves out of trouble given their inferior goal difference, but Sunday's result secured their fate.To make matters worse for Valenciennes they missed a golden chance to score early on as Maor Melikson's penalty was saved by Bordeaux keeper Cedric Carrasso. The hosts came flying out of the blocks with David Ducourtioux firing a speculative 25-yard strike that Carrasso was forced to punch clear.Building on that momentum, Valenciennes were awarded a spot kick in the eighth minute when Ludovic Sane was fouled by Majeed Waris inside the box.Carrasso then got down well to deny Melikson and both sides had a series of chances before half-time - Diego Rolan looked particularly dangerous when volleying hard against a post, while Waris forced a smart stop from Carrasso with a point-blank header - but the game remained goalless at the break.Melikson tried to atone for his penalty miss shortly after the interval by curling a right-footed effort on goal from the left-hand side of the box but Carrasso denied him again.Bordeaux came close to scoring the opener in the 55th minute as Cheick Diabate ran onto Faubert's pass to dribble past Macedo Novaes and shoot at the empty goalmouth.However, Mater got back just in time to clear the ball off the line and keep VA alive in the contest for a little while longer.Yet Faubert would break Valenciennes' hearts 16 minutes from time, the former West Ham full-back latching on to a great through ball from Gregory Sertic to fire past Novaes.ends

9Y
PA Sport

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Guingamp 1-0 Valenciennes

Valenciennes' eight-season stay in Ligue 1 is all but over following a 1-0 defeat at fellow strugglers Guingamp. Claudio Beauvue scored the game's only goal on the hour to move Guingamp to the brink of survival and Valenciennes almost certain relegation.VA are nine points adrift of safety with three games left and have an inferior goal difference to those above.Guingamp can now turn their focus to next weekend's Coupe de France final against Rennes.Steeven Langil volleyed an early chance wide for the hosts before Valenciennes tried in vain for the opening goal they desperately needed after taking just one point from their previous five games.Abdul Waris fired a David Ducourtioux cross narrowly over before the pair swapped roles - only for Ducourtioux to also miss the target.When Waris did find his range Mamadou Samassa pulled off an excellent reflex save.Macedo Novaes made an even better stop at the other end just before half-time when Jeremy Sorbon looked certain to turn in a Langil corner from close range.Novaes was at it again after the break, this time with a memorable reflex stop on the line to deny a Christophe Mandanne header.VA were relying too heavily on the heroics of their goalkeeper, however, and a minute later they were behind.Substitute Thibault Giresse's corner from the left was met by Beauvue at the near post and this time Novaes was beaten.It proved the decisive moment as VA failed to muster a reply.ends

9Y
PA Sport

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Valenciennes 2-6 Nantes

Nantes routed Valenciennes 6-2 to push their hosts further towards the Ligue 1 trapdoor on Sunday. Stuck in the bottom three and on an alarming run of form, Valenciennes were desperate for a result but their hopes were effectively over by half-time as goals from Johan Audel, Alejandro Bedoya and Serge Gapke put Nantes firmly in control. Gapke's second made it 4-0 early in the second half, and although Carl Medjani and Jean-Christophe Baheback pulled goals back late on, there was still time for a Medjani own goal a Banel Nicolita free-kick to complete the rout. The first chance of the match had fallen to Valenciennes when Remy Riou was forced into a good save by Baheback's fifth-minute free-kick, and the Nantes goalkeeper was in action again in the 20th minute when Maor Melikson broke into the area before shooting low.But Nantes struck with the first clear chance in the 23rd minute when Olivier Veigneau crossed from the left for Audel to fire home an unstoppable volley.Nantes built on that before half-time with two quick goals, the first coming in the 40th minute when Lucas Deaux and Jordan Veretout combined to tee up Bedoya as the defence stood still.They were 3-0 up two minutes later when Gakpe raced from his own half before curling the ball beyond the reach of the goalkeeper. Gakpe doubled his haul in the 54th minute with a curling free-kick into the top corner, but Valenciennes showed signs of improvement in the second half - even if it was too late a 4-0 down.Riou had to keep out Baheback's powerful shot before making a fine save to keep out Mathieu Dossevi's strike after a great ball from Melikson fooled the defence. Gregory Pujol's header then struck the post in the 62nd minute and the hosts finally got their reward when Medjani headed in Melikson's corner 11 minutes from time.They ignited faint hopes of a comeback with a second three minutes later, Baheback volleying home Melikson's free-kick, but Nantes had the final say.The unfortunate Medjani headed into his own net with five minutes left before Nicolita's free-kick found the top corner. ends

9Y
PA Sport

Team	GP	W	D	L	GD	P
Le Havre AC	15	9	5	1	+18	32
Bordeaux	15	8	4	3	+11	28
Sochaux	15	8	3	4	+12	27
Grenoble	15	7	5	3	+4	26
Caen	15	6	5	4	+3	23
Valenciennes	15	6	5	4	+1	23
SC Amiens	15	7	2	6	-1	23
Metz	15	6	3	6	+3	21
Pau	15	5	6	4	-3	21
Stade Laval	15	6	2	7	+1	20
Guingamp	15	5	5	5	0	20
Paris FC	15	5	5	5	-2	20
US Quevilly	15	4	6	5	-3	18
Bastia	15	5	3	7	-6	18
Annecy	15	4	4	7	-2	16
Nimes	15	4	3	8	-5	15
Dijon FCO	15	3	6	6	-5	15
Rodez Aveyron	15	3	6	6	-6	15
Niort	15	3	3	9	-14	12
Saint-Etienne	15	3	5	7	-6	11

Goal Difference

Tied-7th

Goals Scored

Tied-16th

Assists

Tied-1st

Goals Conceded

Tied-3rd

Valenciennes

Schedule

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Sources: LA Galaxy to sign French youngster

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Valenciennes eye Diedhiou & Cabral

Senegalese starlet Diouf joins Leganes

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Valenciennes boss gets ban for sexist ref rant

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Valenciennes boss sorry over sexist ref rant

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Toulouse 3-1 Valenciennes

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Valenciennes 1-2 AS Monaco

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Valenciennes 0-1 Bordeaux

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Guingamp 1-0 Valenciennes

Valenciennes

SOCCER

Valenciennes 2-6 Nantes

2022-23 Ligue 2 Standings

2022-23 Team Leaders

French Ligue 2

Joeffrey CuffautD #14

Gautier LarsonneurG #1

Quentin LecoeucheD #28

Rankings

French Ligue 2