Ajaccio climb with Valenciennes win

An injury-time goal from substitute Christian Kinkela saw Ajaccio win 2-1 at Valenciennes to claim their fourth straight Ligue 1 victory and drag themselves out of the relegation zone. Ajaccio were knocked out of the Coupe de la Ligue by fourth-tier Bourg-Peronnas, but rebounded from that exit when Kinkela netted the winner. The victory has catapulted Ajaccio, who finished the game with ten men after Paul Bastien Lasne was shown a second yellow card, up to 15th place. Recent signing Eduardo broke the deadlock for the visitors in the sixth minute, but Vincent Aboubakar equalised shortly after half-time with a low drive from outside the penalty area. Lasne's dismissal appeared to have ended Ajaccio's hopes of victory, but in the second minute of added time, Congolese midfielder Kinkela drifted into the area from the right before curling an inch-perfect left-footed shot inside the far post. Ajaccio had registered just one win in their first 17 games, but today's victory takes the Corsican side out of the bottom three for the first time since September. The other afternoon kick-off between Evian and Bordeaux ended in a goalless draw, with Bordeaux goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso saving a second-half penalty from Yannick Sagbo after he had felled the Evian striker inside the penalty area.