Girard: We showed battling response

Montpellier coach Rene Girard was full of his praise for his side after their last-gasp victory over St Etienne last night took them back to the Ligue 1 summit. Olivier Giroud left it late, but his 88th-minute winner took his tally for the season to 18 and was sufficient for Montpellier to move a point clear of erstwhile leaders Paris St Germain, who are in action against Bordeaux later today when they can reclaim top spot. "It's a good win against a side that played deep and is capable of counter-attacking dangerously," Girard said. "It wasn't easy to break the deadlock. We made too many mistakes in the first half. We needed more precision. Having said that, the key elements were there." The result put Montpellier's title bid back on track after the disappointment of their 1-0 reverse to lowly Nancy the previous weekend. On that occasion, the dismissals of Vitorino Hilton and Benjamin Stambouli hit their hopes hard and contributed to a defeat that allowed PSG to extend their lead over them in the standings to two points. But Girard was impressed with the response of his players to that setback as they handed him his 18th win in 29 games this season. "The team was combative and willing once again," he said. "I got the response I was looking for from the boys."