Lorient focus on Coupe glory
Lorient coach Christian Gourcuff says winning the Coupe de France is now the club's main focus after they booked their place in the semi-finals with a last-gasp 2-1 win over St Etienne on Tuesday night.
St Etienne, who contest the Coupe de la Ligue final this weekend, saw their hopes of a double ended by an injury-time Jeremie Aliadiere winner as Lorient brought a halt to Les Verts' unbeaten start to 2013.
"I am satisfied with our qualification for the semi-finals, and also with the way we played in the first half," said Gourcuff.
"Tactically, we were able to do exactly what we had planned. We created a lot of space. There were some interesting passages of play in the game, especially considering the fact that the team we put out there was somewhat experimental. Winning the Coupe de France is now our goal for the end of this season."
ASSE had designs on reaching the last four of this competition after amassing a 17-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
That streak - which has them on the verge of Champions League qualification in the league - was made shaky when Maxime Barthelme opened the scored just before half-time, although they pulled level through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with 15 minutes left.
But rather than kick on for victory Lorient stunned their hosts as Aliadiere stole the win in time added on.
"The overriding feelings are disappointment and frustration," said St Etienne coach Christophe Galtier. We had a real desire to go further in the competition, but we were punished. The players lacked a bit of rhythm, but we had a real desire to go through and we are very disappointed."
In the night's other match, Troyes put their woeful Ligue 1 form to one side to beat fellow relegation rivals Nancy 3-0.
All the goals arrived after the break through Jeremie Brechet (51), Julien Faussurier (74) and Fabien Camus (81).
"It's a nice result for us," said Troyes coach Jean-Marc Furlan. "The cup is special.
"You never know what is going to unfold and it puts you in a totally different state of mind. It was a semi-final and I am very pleased that the players have responded accordingly."