Caen leave it late to beat Reims

Caen were thankful for late goals from N'Golo Kante and Herve Bazile as they secured their first win of the Ligue 1 season with a 2-0 victory over home side Reims.

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Gaetan Charbonnier almost opened the scoring for Reims in the early stages, but he guided his effort straight at Remi Vercoutre in the Caen goal.

Caen's first chance came from long distance as Kante let fly, only to see his shot fly past the left post.

Bengali-Fode Koita might have put the away side in front before half time had he not spooned over the crossbar from the centre of the Reims box.

The hosts were presented with a great chance just after the interval, only for Charbonnier to blaze over the crossbar with the goal gaping.

Caen's Koita came close again with just under 20 minutes remaining, but Johny Placide got down well to deny the striker at his left corner.

The visitors kept pushing for an opener and they eventually found it when Kante turned in Bazile's cross.

Caen then cemented the three points as Bazile turned scorer to prod home from Koita's incisive pass, to leave the final score at 2-0.