Reims needed an injury-time equaliser to secure a 2-2 draw with Marseille at Stade Velodrome in Ligue 1 this evening.
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Marseille put the visitors under pressure in the opening five minutes, but it was Reims who made the early breakthrough when Prince Oniangue hit the post with a long-range effort, leaving Nicolas de Preville to fire in from the centre of the box.
Andre Ayew and Andre-Pierre Gignac both missed the target from close range as they tried to get the hosts back on level terms shortly after, but it was Oniangue who came closest to adding a second in the first half when another powerful shot from outside the box forced a save.
Marseille pressed again at the start of the second half, and managed to find the equaliser just before the hour mark when Gignac picked out Dimitri Payet with a through-ball on the edge of the box, leaving the midfielder to blast it into the top corner.
The home side were in front just 10 minutes later when Ayew tapped in a Brice Dja Djedje shot on the line after Reims failed to clear a corner.
Gaetan Charbonnier almost equalised straight away as the visitors won a corner down the other end, but his half-volley came back off the crossbar.
Gignac and Benjamin Mendy both had chances to put the win beyond doubt in the final 15 minutes, but the first effort was saved, before Mendy fired the ball well high.
Reims did not give up, as David Ngog attempted a 20-yard drive following a free kick, which was saved, but the substitute was in again shortly after, nodding in from a Charbonnier cross to level the scores at the start of injury time.
The result prevents Marseille from returning to the top of the table, leaving the side a point behind Lyon, while Reims sit 13th.
Sian Cowper
