Crucial point for Evian

A late equaliser by Clarck Nsikulu earned relegation-threatened Evian a 1-1 draw at Toulouse on Saturday night.

Young striker Clarck Nsikulu scored his second goal of the season late on as relegation-threatened Evian forced a 1-1 draw at Toulouse. And as their lowly rivals Valenciennes threw away a lead late on to lose against bottom side Ajaccio, what looked like being a painful night for Evian became a successful one as they edged three points clear of the drop zone. Nsikulu's first of the campaign came in December's shock win over leaders and probable champions Paris St Germain, and the second from the 21-year-old could prove just as important. Toulouse, whose goal came from Wissam Ben Yedder early in the second half, will see the draw as an opportunity missed, as victory would have hoisted them to fifth place in Ligue 1 whereas a draw puts them seventh. It was they who had the better of the first half, with Etienne Didot's corner headed inches over by Uros Spajic before Eden Ben Basat hit the post and Ben Yedder saw a volley cleared off the line by Cedric Cambon. Marco Ruben flashed a warning to Toulouse early in the second period when he made good ground on the left and burst into the penalty area before seeing a right-footed shot blocked by goalkeeper Zacharie Boucher. Toulouse led from the 55th minute though. Ben Basat initially drew a stunning save from Jesper Hansen, who punched the ball out to the edge of the penalty area, from which point Ben Yedder showed good skill to outfox the goalkeeper and defender Kassim Abdallah and slot home into the net. Clement Chantome fired a left-footed shot inches wide from close range as Toulouse targeted a second goal, but the expected win was swiped away from them in the 89th minute. Cedric Mongongu pounced on an inadequate clearance from defence to cross towards Nsikulu, who finished calmly with his left foot for the equaliser.