Late Aliadiere strike stuns Les Verts

Jeremie Aliadiere's stoppage-time strike took Lorient through to the semi-finals of the French Cup on Tuesday as the Brittany side won 2-1 away to Saint-Etienne in their quarter-final tie. Aliadiere brilliantly converted a Mathias Autret cross three minutes into injury time to keep modest Lorient in with a chance of winning the Cup for the second time in their history. Lorient had taken a first-half lead at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard courtesy of a comprehensive Maxime Barthelme finish, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came off the bench to equalise for Les Verts in the 74th minute. However, former Arsenal striker Aliadiere's 18th goal of the season sealed Saint-Etienne's first defeat of 2013 and also put paid to their dreams of winning a domestic Cup double. Les Verts face Rennes in Saturday's League Cup final as they bid to win a major trophy for the first time since their 1981 championship triumph. Earlier, in a meeting of two clubs in the Ligue 1 relegation zone, Troyes beat Nancy 3-0, with Jeremie Brechet, Julien Faussurier and Fabien Camus all scoring in the second half. The remaining quarter-finals will be played on Wednesday, when Bordeaux travel to face Lens, the only survivor from outside the top flight. Then, Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain, who are bidding to win the Cup for the ninth time in their history, are away to Evian. From: AFP