Sat Mar 29 15:04:14 2008

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Cavenaghi keeps Bordeaux in second

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Bordeaux, France (Sports Network) - Fernando Cavenaghi scored two second-half goals to help Bordeaux strengthen its hold on second place with a 2-1 win over third-place Nancy on Saturday.

The teams were separated by only three points at the start of the day, and Nancy started well with Moncaf Zerka giving the team a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute. However, things went south in the second half as Cavenaghi equalized in the 53rd minute and Nancy's Jonathan Brison was sent off one minute later after picking up his second yellow card.

Bordeaux then earned a penalty kick in the 83rd minute and Cavenaghi made no mistake, securing all three points with a well-taken shot.

The win moves the home side six points clear of Nancy in an effort to secure an automatic berth in the Champions League, while they also move to within six points of league-leaders Lyon, who will face Valenciennes on Sunday.

Youssouf Hadji got Nancy off to a great start when his cross found the head of Zerka at the top of the six-yard box. The striker then calmly finished off the play by heading the ball past Bordeaux keeper Ulrich Rame for his third tally of the season.

Bordeaux gradually made its way back into the game, closing out the first half strongly before leveling the match in the 53rd through a corner kick.

The ball was swung into the area and headed on by Alou Diarra, whose flick went right into the path of Cavenaghi. He then nodded the ball into the roof of the net for his first goal of the match.

Brison then made things difficult for his side when he was hit with his second yellow card for a hard foul on Bordeaux's Mathieu Chalme.

Nancy was able to hold out down a man until the final 10 minutes, when Bordeaux's Marouane Chamakh was brought down by Nancy's Chris Malonga.

Cavenaghi then made Malonga pay with a neatly taken shot into the top right corner from the penalty spot, snatching all three points for his side.