Underdogs Auxerre moved into the final of the Coupe de France after they beat holders Guingamp 1-0 at the Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps this evening.
The home side came close in the opening 10 minutes of the contest when Gregory Berthier found space to fire a shot towards goal, only to be denied by Mamadou Samassa.
Auxerre continued to threaten early on and they found the vital goal in the 16th minute, when Cheick Diarra picked out Frederic Sammaritano who finished from close range to make it 1-0.
Sammaritano should have put the hosts 2-0 ahead before the break as he looked to capitalise following some great work from Berthier, but Samassa came to Guingamp's rescue again.
Guingamp found it difficult to create much in the way of chances in the second period, although they spurned a huge opportunity four minutes from time as Christophe Mandanne and Claudio Beauvue combined before the ball flew over the bar.
The current holders continued to push for an important leveller with some healthy injury time being added, but Auxerre defending resolutely in front of an inspiring home crowd to scrape through to the final.
Christopher Dodd
