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Some names on the Boston College depth chart remain familiar to Tom O’Brien. But when the North Carolina State coach leads the Wolfpack against his former team, it’ll be different this time.

Most of the novelty - and the awkwardness - has disappeared for the winningest coach in BC history.

“I don’t know if it’s old hat, but it doesn’t seem the same as last year,” O’Brien said Monday. “A lot of people that I still know (are) there, but it certainly has a much different feel to it now that I’ve been here for a year-plus.”

Of course, there are many reasons why a been-there, done-that feel surrounds the latest O’Brien-vs.-BC matchup. The coach already went through this a year ago, when he brought his largely unknown N.C. State team to Chestnut Hill on the nine-month anniversary of his December 2006 departure and absorbed a 37-17 beating.

It was followed by a season full of speculation from outsiders wondering if O’Brien had any regrets leaving a Boston College program that temporarily rose to No. 2 in the BCS standings to rebuild a Wolfpack program mired in the ACC Atlantic Division cellar. “I knew what I was doing,” the coach said at the time.

This time, last-place N.C. State (2-3, 0-1 ACC) has more pressing concerns: A growing list of injuries and a confidence-shaking 31-point home loss to No. 10 South Florida.

Left tackle Julian Willliams (shoulder) could become the 11th Wolfpack starter to miss time due to injury. Former third-string quarterback Harrison Beck was the starter on the depth chart released Monday, while Russell Wilson - who dressed but sat out the USF loss with an undisclosed injury - was not listed for the second straight week.

“I think we’ve got bigger things on our plate than his second game against his old team,” center Ted Larsen said.

Still, it could create an interesting dynamic this weekend for Boston College’s second visit to Carter-Finley Stadium. The scene surrounding the first - the Wolfpack’s come-from-behind 17-15 win in September 2006 - was impressive enough to persuade O’Brien to leave BC for state-supported N.C. State and its glitzy facilities.

What’s new this year about Boston College (3-1, 0-1 ACC) is star quarterback Matt Ryan is gone, and so is the familiar pro-style offense that O’Brien favored as he led the Eagles to 75 wins during his decade with team (1997-2006).

“It’s probably more of what (offensive coordinator) Steve Logan wants to do,” O’Brien said. “Obviously, keeping Matt in his comfort zone last year. (This team has) more option, more read, more of a spread style - the offense of the late 2000s.”

O’Brien has kept up many of his ties to New England, still rooting for the Boston Red Sox, but he insists there’s no time for nostalgia this weekend. Not with his wounded Wolfpack hoping to heal quickly enough to make a move in a wide-open divisional race in which four teams - including both N.C. State and Boston College - already have one conference loss.

“With Clemson losing, that puts them back with us, so everybody’s got a shot,” O’Brien said. “It’s anybody’s guess right now who’s going to win the conference, so every game right now is a championship game.”

Washington quarterback Jake Locker will be out for up to eight weeks. After breaking his right thumb, a damaging blow for a team looking at a possible 0-5 start for the first time in 39 years.

Locker had surgery Monday to repair the fracture. He was injured throwing a block in the second quarter of a 35-28 loss to Stanford on Saturday.

“Obviously, I think it’s a huge loss,” coach Tyrone Willingham said. “He adds so much to our team in so many ways. His presence, his running skills, what he’s done for us in the passing game.”

Locker has thrown for 512 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 180 yards and three scores this season.

With redshirt freshman Ronnie Fouch running the offense, the Huskies offense will change significantly. Fouch is an adequate runner but isn’t a threat like Locker, who set a modern Pac-10 record for yards rushing by a quarterback last season.

Fouch is a more conventional passer, who hit on 13 of 27 attempts for 186 yards and a touchdown in relief against Stanford. He also directed a 95-yard touchdown drive in the closing minutes, capped with a 1-yard touchdown dive to pull Washington within 35-28 with 1:25 left. The ensuing onside kick went out of bounds, and Stanford ran out the clock.

“I’m the type of guy that if we lose a game, I put the blame on myself,” Fouch said. “Whenever we lose I feel like it’s my fault. I put the blame on myself for losing, and I want to go out against Arizona and do whatever to help this team win.”

September 29, 1938 Greyhound sets the trotting world record. Of 1:55-1/4 in a time trial at the Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky.

September 30, 1989 Goalie Jeff wins the Tattersalls Pace final for 3-year-olds in 1:51.3 at the Red Mile.

October 1, 1971 Steady Star sets the pacing world record of 1:52 in a time trial at the Red Mile.

October 1, 1980 Niatross sets the pacing world record of 1:49.1 in a time trial at the Red Mile.

October 2, 1982 Fan Hanover sets the world record for female pacers in 1:50.4 at the Red Mile.

October 3, 1986 Mack Lobell sets the world record for 2-year-old trotters of 1:55.3 at the Red Mile.

October 3, 1969 Lindys Pride wins the Kentucky Futurity in straight heats at the Red Mile to complete a sweep of the Trotting Triple Crown races.

October 4, 1960 Adios Butler sets the pacing world record of 1:54.3 in a time trial at the Red Mile.

October 5, 1980 Classical Way sets the world record for female trotters of 1:55.2 in a time trial at the Red Mile.

Peppers Pride is ready to try again.
The New Mexico thoroughbred mare is entered in a 6-furlong allowance race Saturday at Zia Park, bidding for what would be a North American record 17th career victory in as many starts.

Peppers Pride never has raced outside New Mexico and could break the mark of 16 straight wins she shares with Triple Crown winner Citation, two-time horse of the year Cigar, Mister Frisky and Hallowed Dreams.

Shes doing well, trainer Joel Marr said Monday.

Peppers Pride hasnt raced since winning the Foutz Distaff Handicap at SunRay Park on April 26. A scheduled attempt to break the record on July 27 was ruined by heavy rains and flooding at Ruidoso Downs, the remnants of Hurricane Dolly. She was slated to run at Ruidoso on Aug. 31, but Marr scratched her after more rains turned the track sloppy.

He agreed the long layoff was not an optimal training regimen.

It probably has had an effect, and well find out Saturday, Marr said. But she has been training well.

Portuguese Football Results.
LISBON, Portugal -Results from the fourth round of the Portuguese first division football league (home teams listed first):

Sunday’s Games

Maritimo 2, Academica 0

Nacional 1, Amadora 2

Trofense 1, Guimaraes 3

Monday’s Game

Belenenses vs. Leixoes.

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Spanish Football Results.

MADRID, Spain -Results from the fifth round of Spain’s first-division football league (home teams listed first):

Sunday’s Games

Malaga 2, Valladolid 1

Almeria 1, Recreativo Huelva 0

Athletic Bilbao 0, Getafe 1

Racing Santander 1, Mallorca 2

Numancia 0, Osasuna 0

Valencia 4, Deportivo La Coruna 2

Atletico Madrid 0, Sevilla 1

Saturday, Oct. 4

Villarreal vs. Real Betis

Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid

Sunday, Oct. 5

Recreativo Huelva vs. Malaga

Getafe vs. Almeria

Sevilla vs. Athletic Bilbao

Mallorca vs. Sporting Gijon

Osasuna vs. Racing Santander

Deportivo La Coruna vs. Numancia

Valladolid vs. Valencia

Real Madrid vs. Espanyol.

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French Football Results.

PARIS -Results Sunday from the seventh round of the French first-division football league (home teams listed first):

Sunday’s Games

Monaco 0, Lille 2

Valenciennes 0 Toulouse 1

Bordeaux 1, Saint-Etienne 1

Saturday, Oct. 4

Grenoble vs. Nantes

Le Havre vs. Le Mans

Lorient vs. Bordeaux

Marseille vs. Caen

Nice vs. Sochaux

Toulouse vs. Auxerre

Lille vs. Valenciennes

Sunday, Oct. 5

Rennes vs. Lyon

Saint-Etienne vs. Monaco

Nancy vs. Paris Saint-Germain.

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Italian Football Results.

ROME -Results in the Serie A, the Italian first-division football league (home teams listed first):

Sunday’s Games

Bologna 0, Napoli 1

Catania 1, Chievo Verona 0

Lecce 2, Cagliari 0

Palermo 1, Reggina 0

AS Roma 2, Atalanta 0

Torino 1, Lazio 3

Udinese 2, Siena 1

AC Milan 1, Inter Milan 0

Saturday, Oct. 4

Lazio vs. Lecce

Inter Milan vs. Bologna

Sunday, Oct. 5

Atalanta vs. Sampdoria

Chievo Verona vs. Fiorentina

Genoa vs. Napoli

Juventus vs. Palermo

Reggina vs. Catania

Siena vs. AS Roma

Udinese vs. Torino

Cagliari vs. AC Milan.

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Greek Football Results.

ATHENS, Greece -Results Sunday from the fourth round of the Greek league:

Sunday’s games

Iraklis 0, Panthrakikos 0

Levadiakos 1, Asteras 0

Panionios 2, AEK 2

Xanthi 1, Thrasivoulos 0

PAOK 1, Aris 0

Panathinaikos vs. Ergotelis, postponed.

Alberto Luque is expected to be out for a month. After injuring his foot in Malaga’s 2-1 victory over Valladolid on Sunday.

The former Spain striker, who joined Malaga after a season at Ajax, was substituted in the 86th minute and was later determined to have ruptured a ligament in his right foot.

The 30-year-old former Newcastle and Deportivo La Coruna player has featured in three of Malaga’s first five Spanish league matches.

Malaga is 17th with four points.

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PAOK beats Aris-1-0, shares Greek league lead.

Pablo Contreras scored in the second half to help PAOK beat Thessaloniki rival Aris 1-0 Sunday in the Greek league.

Contreras connected with a free kick from the edge of the box by Zlatan Muslimovic in the 68th.

PAOK and Olympiakos have 10 points each at the top of the standings.

AEK played to a 2-2 draw against Panionios to move to fourth place with 8 points, one behind Xanthi which beat visiting Thrasivoulos 1-0.

Preseason title contender AEK controlled play throughout the first half, but it was Panionios which took the lead thanks to an own-goal by Sotiris Kyrgiakos in the 26th.

In the 58th, Martin Scocco leveled off a cross by Panagiotis Lagos before Michael Dalura put Panionios ahead again in the 68th.

AEK charged forward in the last minutes of the game and managed to equalize in injury time with a low drive by Pandelis Kaffes. The scorer had replaced Daniel Pelletieri in the 86th.

Also Sunday, it was: Iraklis 0, Panthrakikos 0 and Levadiakos 1, Asteras 0.

Defending champion Olympiakos conceded its first league points after a 0-0 draw at OFI Crete on Saturday.

Panathinaikos’ match against Ergotelis was postponed until Oct. 29 because of a Madonna concert at the Athens Olympic stadium.

Andre-Pierre Gignac scored in injury time Sunday. To lead Toulouse 1-0 over Valenciennes and into second place in the French league, five points behind clear leader Lyon.

Gignac had earlier missed a chance for the visitors when he skewed his shot wide after running through on goal, but the striker made amends and got his third goal in two games with a 20-meter (yard) strike that crept inside the post.

“What is for sure is that we’re in good form, and we can still get better,” Toulouse coach Alain Casanova said. “But we have to stick together and stay confident. We are a tough team to play and we move the ball around very quickly.”

Also, Yohan Cabaye and Ludovic Obraniak scored in the second half to give improving Lille a 2-0 win at Monaco.

The win improved Toulouse onto 14 points from seven rounds of matches, while Lyon has 19 points from the same number of games as it chases an eighth straight title. Lille’s win moved it up to seventh place with 11 points, one place below Bordeaux, which drew 1-1 at home against Saint-Etienne.

“We caused trouble for ourselves, we missed a lot of chances and a penalty,” Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc said. “But the way we played in the first half we didn’t deserve to win.”

Monaco coach Ricardo was exasperated with his team after a second straight home defeat, following a League Cup loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.

“We didn’t play any football in the second half, we just used the long ball,” Ricardo said. “It’s amazing to see the amount of balls we gave away.”

At Bordeaux, the visitors took the lead in the 27th when Dimitri Payet turned one way and then the other to trick defender Diego Placente into a lunging tackle that completely missed the ball, giving Payet time to thump the ball under goalkeeper Ulrich Rame and into the bottom corner.

Fernando Cavenaghi missed a penalty on the stroke of halftime when his shot struck the crossbar. But the Argentine striker equalized in the 57th when he headed a free kick from Yoann Gourcuff over the head of goalkeeper Jody Viviani as he rushed off his line.

In the 69th, Cavenaghi had two chances to win the match.

Racing onto a headed pass from Marouane Chamakh, he flicked the ball past Viviani, only for Greece defender Efstathios Tavlaridis to sprint back and kick the ball away. It landed straight at the feet of Cavenaghi, who curled the ball toward the top corner only for Tavlaridis to save Saint-Etienne again when he headed the shot over the crossbar.

At Monaco, Cabaye opened the scoring in the 69th minute with a shot that took a deflection off defender Modesto, and Obraniak came off the bench to seal the win in the 88th with a neat chip over goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier.

Cabaye, a promising 22-year-old midfielder who is on the fringes of the French national team, was at the heart of Lille’s best moves.

In the 25th minute, his freekick was headed powerfully by Brazilian striker Tulio De Melo and Ruffier leapt to make a fine save. Ten minutes later, Cabaye struck the crossbar with a freekick from 40 meters (yards) that had beaten Ruffier for sheer power.

On Saturday, Karim Benzema and Fred scored to lead Lyon 2-1 over Nancy and maintain its unbeaten start to the season.

In Saturday’s other matches, it was: Le Mans, Marseille 1; Auxerre 3, Le Havre 0; Caen 3, Nantes 0; Rennes 1, Nice 0; Sochaux 1, Lorient 1; and PSG 0, Grenoble 1.

Valencia beat Deportivo La Coruna 4-2 on Sunday with two goals. From David Villa to move top of the Spanish league, ahead of Villarreal on goal difference.

Juanma Mata scored for Valencia and set up three goals as Valencia joined Villarreal at 13 points, while Real Madrid has 12.

Luis Fabiano scored to give Sevilla a 1-0 victory at Atletico Madrid to boost the Andalucian club into third on 11 points ahead of Almeria, which beat Recreativo Huelva 1-0 on Sunday to join FC Barcelona with 10 points.

In Sunday’s other fifth-round games, it was: Malaga 2, Valladolid 1; Racing Santander 1, Mallorca 2; Athletic Bilbao 0, Getafe 1; and Numancia 0, Osasuna 0.

Valencia defender Emiliano Moretti scored an own-goal in the 11th minute after redirecting Pablo Alvarez’s pass to catch goalkeeper Renan Brito out at the near post.

Miguel Angel “Mista” Ferrer missed a chance to double Deportivo’s lead in the 19th before Valencia assumed control.

Deportivo goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia saved Villa’s hard half-volley and Mata shot over. But Mata didn’t miss in the 35th as the young winger headed a flicked-on cross from Joaquin Sanchez at the far post to equalize.

Villa, who fired wide after moving in alone on Aranzubia in the 43rd, ran onto Mata’s ball six minutes later and cut inside to send a right-footed stab under the Basque goalkeeper.

Aranzubia got his arms out to parry David Albelda’s bouncing volley in the 58th before catching Fernando Morientes’ header three minutes later.

Sanchez ran onto Mata’s short centering pass for a close-range score in the 69th and shot wide 10 minutes later after a quick crossover move inside the area.

Mata drew the defense to the left of the box in the 81st before feeding Villa at the far post for the easy tap-in that took the Spain striker top of the league with six goals from five matches.

Valencia coach Unai Emery applauded the home win, a rare thing last season during a tumultuous campaign when the club battled relegation.

“We’ve gotten over the problems of the last campaign and what is important is to worry about ourselves and from this point on show prudence and the conviction that we belong here,” Emery said.

Angel Lafita added Deportivo’s second goal after a mistake by the Valencia defense in the 85th.

Sergio Aguero could have given Atletico a third-minute lead at the Vicente Calderon stadium but the Argentina striker wasn’t ready for a bouncing cross, missing a header from in front of the open goal.

Fabiano, who saw a seventh-minute goal disallowed because of a questionable offside call, made no mistake in the 21st. The Brazil striker curled a rigth-footed free kick over the defensive wall inside the near post beyond the outstretched Gregory Coupet.

Fabiano beat Coupet with a header in the 56th but it hit the crossbar.

Atletico’s injury worries before its Champions League match against Marseille on Wednesday appeared to amplify in the 60th when Ever Banega was substituted after taking a knock to his ankle. Atletico, which was held scoreless for the first time in six games, is already without Diego Forlan while Aguero, Florent Sinama-Pongolle and Simao Sabrosa are all hurting.

At the Juegos Mediterraneos stadium, Alvaro Negredo scored the winner five minutes into injury time after Recreativo had been reduced to nine men following the sending off of Jesus Vazquez and Oliveira in the closing stages. Sisinio Gonzalez was then ejected for dissent following Negredo’s fourth goal of the season.

At La Rosaleda stadium, Manuel “Lolo” Ortiz slotted a low shot home through a crowd in the 34th minute for Malaga’s first goal of the season after 394 minutes played. Adrian Lopez ensured promoted Malaga’s first victory of the season in the 55th when the substitute poked Eliseu’s cross-goal pass under goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo.

Pedro Leon sidefooted in Haris Medunjanin’s rebound at the near post in the 65th, but Valladolid could not equalize.

Racing went ahead at the El Sardinero stadium in the 22nd when Ivan Marcano turned home Gonzalo Colsa’s floating free kick with a header.

But Fernando Varela equalized with Mallorca’s first shot of the match in the waning moments of the first half - a left-footed stroke that moved around goalkeeper Antonio Rodriguez to go in off the bottom of the far post.

Achille Webo’s diving header in the 86th won it for Mallorca to keep Racing winless.

Javier Casquero scored with a swerving blast from 30 meters out and only three minutes to play at San Mames to give Getafe its second win of the season.

On Saturday, Villarreal kept its unbeaten start to the season with a 1-0 victory over last-placed Sporting Gijon to stay in front of Madrid after the defending champions needed an injury-time goal from Ruud van Nistelrooy in a 2-1 victory at Real Betis.

Lionel Messi’s injury-time penalty gave FC Barcelona a 2-1 win against crosstown rival Espanyol in a match that was halted for 10 minutes due to crowd trouble.

Argentine forward Mauro Zarate scored twice and set up another goal. To help Lazio beat Torino 3-1 Sunday and take the Serie A lead away from Inter Milan, which was beaten 1-0 by AC Milan.

Playing in his first Milan derby since transferring from FC Barcelona, Ronaldinho scored with a header off a perfect setup from Kaka in the 36th minute at the San Siro.

Jose Mourinho’s Inter was reduced to 10 men in the 77th when defender Nicolas Burdisso picked up his second yellow card for a sliding tackle on Kaka.

“To me, one team didn’t deserve (victory) more than another,” Mourinho said. “They scored so my compliments to Milan.”

Earlier, Zarate drew three defenders toward him and passed to Goran Pandev for the opening goal in the 30th minute, then scored in the 63rd with a long, curling shot before adding a penalty in the 84th.

With its fourth win in five rounds, Lazio took a one-point lead on Napoli, which beat Bologna 1-0 with an 87th-minute goal by another Argentine, German Denis.

Lazio leads with 12 points. Napoli is next with 11 points and Inter, Udinese and Catania are tied with 10 each. Milan and Juventus are in a four-way tie with nine points apiece.

“When I look at the standings, I don’t look at Lazio, Atalanta or Catania. I look at Milan, Juve and Roma,” Mourinho said. “We’re all grouped together so I’m confident for the future.”

Lazio president Claudio Lotito signed the 21-year-old Zarate on loan from Al-Sadd in Qatar for ?2 million (US$2.9 million) and he leads the Serie A with six goals in five games. Lotito has until April to decide if he wants to pay another ?15 million (US$21.9 million) to keep him.

Lazio coach Delio Rossi was cautious when asked if he expected Zarate to perform so well.

“If were to say no I would be someone who doesn’t believe in his own players. But then if I respond yes I would be presumptuous,” the coach said. “Let’s say the truth is somewhere in the middle.”

Nicola Amoruso pulled one back with a penalty in added time for Torino, which ended with nine men and forward Nicola Ventola in goal.

Lazio’s success has come without its captain Tommaso Rocchi, who should return next month after getting injured while playing for Italy at the Beijing Olympics.

“My players say they’re aiming for the title?” Rossi said. “I’m pleased to coach players who aim for the top. That’s how you really improve your self esteem. Although you need to achieve your goals, not just state them. On paper there are teams better outfitted than ours.”

Fabio Quagliarella scored one and set up another goal as Udinese beat Siena 2-1, and Michele Paolucci found the net for Catania in a 1-0 win over Chievo Verona.

AS Roma beat Atalanta 2-0 for only its second win, with goals from Christian Panucci and Mirko Vucinic as captain Francesco Totti again sat out.

Also, Fabrizio Miccoli scored his fourth goal of the season as Palermo beat Reggina 1-0, and Lecce had goals from Guillermo Giacomazzi and Jose Castillo in a 2-0 win over last-place Cagliari.

On Saturday, Juventus was held to a 0-0 draw at Sampdoria and Fiorentina beat Genoa 1-0.

At Turin’s Stadio Olimpico, goalkeeper Matteo Sereni was sent off for a foul on Cristian Brocchi in the 81st that led to Zarate’s penalty.

Torino had already used all three of its substitutions, so Ventola took Sereni’s jersey and stood between the posts without gloves as he watched Zarate’s spot kick blow past him. Torino defender Francesco Pratali picked up his second yellow card in the 88th and coach Gianni De Biasi was sent off for protesting in added time.

After sitting on the bench for most of Milan’s opening four games, Ronaldinho got a starting nod alongside Kaka and Alexandre Pato in an all-Brazilian attack for the Rossoneri. The former FIFA player of the year was in form from the start, putting a precise shot on goal in the 25th that Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar punched away by the post.

Three minutes later, Kaka advanced the ball behind Inter’s defense and crossed a high ball into the area that Ronaldinho rose to meet with a header that landed in the corner of the goal.

Inter started with Zlatan Ibrahimovic flanked by Amantino Mancini and Ricardo Quaresma in attack, then removed Mancini and defender Marco Materazzi in the 59th to put on two more forwards - Adriano and Julio Ricardo Cruz.

In the 71st, Cruz and Ibrahimovic each missed shots wide from outside the area within a few seconds of each other. Dejan Stankovic also came on for Inter and missed a chance in the 81st.

A minute later, Materazzi was shown a red card while sitting on Inter’s bench, apparently for protests.

Napoli extended its undefeated streak in all competitions this season to 10 games, with eight wins and two draws, including a 3-2 first-leg win over Benfica in the UEFA Cup.

Napoli newcomer Denis scored the winner with a header off a corner.

Bologna has lost four straight after opening with a 2-1 upset of AC Milan.

Wearing the captain’s armband in place of Totti, Panucci scored his third goal in all competitions to put Roma ahead in the 17th following a corner. Vucinic doubled the lead in the 32nd from the center of the area for the first goal by a Roma forward this season.

Karim Benzema and Fred scored Saturday to lead unbeaten Lyon 2-1 over Nancy. And six points ahead of Marseille at the top of the French league.

Lyon coach Claude Puel started promising 20-year-old striker Anthony Mounier and he set up both goals.

In the 30th minute, Mounier tricked his way past a defender and then threaded a pass for Benzema to convert with a low shot for his sixth league goal of the season. Five minutes later, Mounier’s cross from the left allowed Fred to slide in Lyon’s second goal.

With seven-time defending champion Lyon still celebrating, Pascal Berenguer pulled a goal back for Nancy a minute later. But Lyon controlled the second half to remain unbeaten with 19 points after seven rounds.

Marseille was held to a 1-1 draw at Le Mans and has 13 points.

In other matches, it was: Auxerre 3, Le Havre 0; Caen 3, Nantes 0; Rennes 1, Nice 0; Sochaux 1, Lorient 1; and Paris Saint-Germain 0, Grenoble 1.

PSG slipped to its second straight 1-0 defeat when Nassim Akrour struck a swerving shot from outside the penalty area in the 76th that dipped over goalkeeper Mickael Landreau, who had strayed off his line.

At Le Mans, France winger Hatem Ben Arfa dribbled through the defense and slipped the ball under goalkeeper Yohann Pele to give Marseille the lead after just seven minutes.

Le Mans equalized two minutes later when Norway striker Thorstein Helstad headed in Anthony Le Tallec’s cross from close range.

Marseille striker Mamadou Niang missed a free header and shot over the crossbar in the first half, and Ben Arfa forced Pele into a fine save diving backward as Marseille pressed for a second goal.

But substitute Mobido Maiga almost won the match for Le Mans in the 73rd when his cross hit the bar.

Substitute Mamadou Samassa thought he had won the match for Marseille with a header from a corner, but the referee ruled that the ball had not crossed the line. This sparked a furious reaction from Samassa and teammate Boudewijn Zenden, who both rushed over to remonstrate with the linesman.

“I definitely think it was in, but you can’t tell without seeing the replay,” Samassa said. “Even though it is two points dropped, I think we are on the right track because we played well.”

Marseille president Pape Diouf said the goal should have stood, and that this type of error has already been made against his team this season.

“We had this against Bordeaux and again here, so it’s starting to get enough,” Diouf said. “It cost us a victory. When you count the points at the end of the season, it’s another two points that have gone.”

At Caen, Steve Savidan, Fahid Ben Khalfallah and Benjamin Nivet scored in the first half to put Caen in control, while Adama Coulibaly, Ireneusz Jelen and Thomas Kahlenberg had Auxerre’s goals.

At Rennes, Jimmy Briand got the winner in the 51st, while Mevlut Erding equalized for Sochaux in the 79th after Andre Ayew gave Lorient a first-half lead.

On Sunday, it is: Monaco vs. Lille; Valenciennes vs. Toulouse; and Bordeaux vs. Saint-Etienne.