Dijon bag vital win over Caen

Dijon boosted their chances of avoiding the drop from Ligue 1 with an important 2-0 home victory over fellow strugglers Caen. Koro Issa Kone set Dijon on their way with a 21st-minute opener and Younousse Sankhare secured the points with a second goal in the 69th minute. The victory leaves Dijon four points clear of 17th-placed Caen, and five above 18th-placed Nice and the relegation zone. Dijon's morale was sent soaring by last weekend's 2-1 victory over Marseille at the Stade Velodrome and they started today's game on the front foot with Sankhare thumping a 20-yard effort just wide after three minutes. Caen, who had picked up just two points from their previous four games, responded well and they went close twice in quick succession around the ten-minute mark, Romain Hamouma hitting side-netting from a tight angle before Pierre-Alain Frau fired just over with a half-volley from outside the area. The game continued to flow from end to end early on and Dijon were back on the attack in the 15th minute with Caen goalkeeper Alexis Thebaux being called on to keep out a Benjamin Corgnet effort. Thebaux was beaten six minutes later, though, as Dijon took the lead. The visiting defence failed to clear a free-kick from deep and the ball fell to Samuel Souprayen on the left of the area and his pass in to Koro Kone was steered beyond Thebaux by the Ivorian forward. Caen started the second half in determined fashion, but they could not make the most of their openings with Benjamin Nivet firing wide in the 55th minute and Livio Nabab seeing his 62nd-minute header saved on the line by Dijon keeper Baptiste Reynet. Dijon then doubled their lead with a goal that left Caen with too much to do. Corgnet picked out Eric Bautheac on the left and although his shot was saved by Thebaux, the Caen keeper could not keep hold of the ball and Sankhare pounced to poke in his side's second goal. Gael Kakuta had a chance to add a third goal late on following a good solo run into the area, but his shot did not match his build-up, although it mattered little as Dijon had already done enough to take the points.