Late goals give Auxerre French Cup

PARIS (Reuters) -- Late goals by Djibril Cisse and Jean Alain Boumsong gave AJ Auxerre a deserved 2-1 victory over 10-man Paris St Germain in the French Cup final on Saturday.

The Burgundy side snatched the third Cup success in their history and their first since 1996 to qualify for the first round of next season's UEFA Cup.

The defeat at the Stade de France was another blow for PSG, the big-spending club from the capital, after they finished 11th in the standings last weekend 14 points adrift of champions Olympique Lyon -- their worst league record for 15 years.

PSG, who will now be coached by Vahid Halilodzic after the controversial Luis Fernandez took charge for the last time, will be without European football next season after passing up their last opportunity to avoid finishing the season empty-handed.

PSG had come into the match with much more to prove than the Burgundy side and were determined from the start.

First chance

Ronaldinho had the first chance when he fired a 20-metre free-kick against the bar after just four minutes.

The playmaker, who has made it clear he wants to leave France after an unhappy two-year spell at PSG, was involved in almost every move from the Parisians.

Ronaldinho set up PSG's opener when he escaped on the left wing and delivered a fine cross that was deflected by an Auxerre defender in the 21st minute.

Portuguese midfielder Hugo Leal took possession and unleashed a powerful right-foot shot from inside the box that beat goalkeeper Fabien Cool.

Auxerre, favorites to win after they finished the season sixth in the league standings, were stunned by the goal.

Their strikeforce of Cisse and Olivier Kapo were given no room by a packed Parisian defense in the first half.

But Leal turned from hero to villain when he was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle on Auxerre defender Philippe Mexes in the 66th. The dismissal was to prove the turning point.

France international Cisse, who put in a lackluster performance, equalized from a pass by defender Johan Radet who ran unchallenged through the PSG defense 11 minute later.

The goal rattled the Parisians and under-21 international defender Boumsong sealed the match with a powerful shot from close-range a minute from time.

Summary

AC Milan 2 AS Roma 2 - Result

Italian Cup final, second leg

First leg: 4-1; AC Milan win 6-3 on aggregate

Scorers:

AC Milan - Rivaldo 65, Filippo Inzaghi 90+3

AS Roma - Francesco Totti 56, 64

Red cards: Antonio Cassano (Roma) 70, Francesco Totti (Roma) 86

Halftime: 0-0; Attendance: 76,061

Teams:

AC Milan: 18-Christian Abbiati; 14-Dario Simic (2-Thomas Helveg 83), 24-Martin Laursen, 13-Alessandro Nesta, 24-Martin Laursen; 8-Gennaro Gattuso (4-Khakhaber Kaladze 88), 5-Fernando Redondo, 20-Clarence Seedorf (10-Ma, 23-Christian Panucci; 8-Francisco Lima, 17-Damiano Tommasi (24-Marco Delvecchio 54), 11-Emerson, 15-Olivier Dacourt (27-Daniele De Rossi 78), 32-Vincent Candela (7-Diego Fuser 85); 10-Francesco Totti, 18-Antonio Cassano.

Referee: Roberto Rosetti

 

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