Auxerre coach Fernandez gets head for heights

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PARIS, Nov 22, 2009 (AFP) - Auxerre coach Jean Fernandez was finding it hard to come to terms with seeing his side take control of the French first division at the weekend.

Auxerre capitalised on slip-ups by Lyon and Bordeaux to move into a clear lead on Saturday.

Lyon were held to a 1-1 draw at Grenoble while champions Bordeaux were downed 1-0 at home by Valenciennes.

That left the stage clear for Auxerre to leapfrog this duo with a result against Monaco in the evening game and the former titleholders duly produced the goods with a 2-0 win.

Mali international Adama Coulibaly gave the Burgundy side the lead in first half injury time and Delvin Ndinga put the result beyond reach of Monaco two minutes from the whistle.

That lifted Auxerre up from third to first with 26 points, with Bordeaux edging Lyon for second on goal difference on 25 points.

Former Marseille coach Fernandez has endured a tough couple of seasons at the helm of Auxerre, but with this result it appears the club is being repaid for showing their faith in him when the going was tough.

"At the end of the match I almost had to pinch myself because I didn't know if we would go top or not," said Fernandez, who has also spent time coach clubs in Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.

"But that's not the important thing. We still had to come out and get the job done against Monaco, who have quality both at the individual and collective levels.

"Being league leaders suits us fine. We've got a team that's confident, tight and our main objective is just to keep collecting the points."

It was Monaco coach Guy Lacombe who informed Fernandez of Auxerre's jump up to first spot, but Lacombe had less kind words for his side.

"I'm not happy at all with the match, or my players," he said.

"Although we played better in the second half we didn't live up to my expectations."

Despite recent setbacks, Monaco are only three points behind champions Bordeaux, who fell behind to a seventh minute strike from French-born Mali international Mamadou Samassa.

Laurent Blanc's side failed to overcome that early shock, which left them with their first defeat at the hands of Valenciennes on home turf since 1976.

The northern side's reward was a jump up to sixth.

On Sunday Lorient's 2-0 away win at Saint Etienne put them fourth, with Nice, 1-0 winners over Toulouse, 1-0, ninth.

Sunday's late match saw Montpellier dish out a 2-0 beating at home to Lille to move up three places to fifth.

On Saturday although Grenoble's Laurent Courtois was sent off in the 70th minute Lyon were unable to make the most of their numerical advantage.

Argentina winger Cesar Delgado put the former multiple champions into a 66th minute lead only for Danijel Ljuboja to level seven minutes later.

Both Bordeaux (Juventus) and Lyon (Florentina) are in Champions League group action this week with qualification to the next round already assured.

On Friday a first-half goal from Gabriel Heinze vaulted Marseille back into the French title race, securing a 1-0 win at the Stade Velodrome over Paris St Germain.

That put Didier Deschamps men in seventh on 22 points, four shy of Auxerre.