Bastia battle back for point

Bastia fought back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw against Sochaux.

Bastia fought back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw against Sochaux that severely dents the Montbeliard outfit's hopes of avoiding relegation. Visiting Sochaux had looked on course for their first away win of the season in Ligue 1 after scoring twice on the stroke of half-time through Jordan Ayew and Sebastien Corchia. A victory would have lifted them to within six points of safety, but they were hit by a superb second-half fightback by mid-table Bastia, who earned a share of the spoils thanks to goals from Gianni Bruno and Djibril Cisse. The first half had looked destined to finish scoreless with the two sides mustering only one decent chance each in the first 44 minutes, Nathan Sinkala's 20-yard drive going inches wide for Sochaux before Bruno saw his effort from distance well saved by Yohann Pele. However, with the half almost up, Sochaux stunned their hosts by netting twice in quick succession. Ayew opened the scoring with a looping header from Sebastien Corchia and then the Ghana international helped set up the second for Corchia. Ayew freed Sebastien Roudet down the left and his cross was headed by Roy Contout into Corchia's path and he tapped home from four yards out. For a side that had only picked up three points from their 16 previous away games this season, a rare victory on their travels looked tantalising close at the interval. However, that prospect was smashed as Bastia pulled a goal back in the 53rd minute when Bruno thumped a header past Pele before Cisse struck a stunning equaliser 15 minutes later. Romaric's 40-yard pass picked out the run of Cisse and the former France international crashed home a first-time volley on the run to leave Mickael Landreau with no chance in the home goal. That would have been a demoralising moment for Sochaux, but they picked themselves up and almost retook the lead four minutes later only for Landreau to produce a superb reflex save to keep out Contout's shot and ensure his side a point.