Bastia 1 - 1 Caen : Caen safe after draw

Bastia missed out on a fourth successive Ligue 1 win, but both they and opponents Caen can look forward to another season Ligue 1 football after a 1-1 draw.

Bastia's recent surge had seen them pull clear of trouble, but Caen were still searching for a win to be sure when the match kicked off.

Their early opener from Sloan Privat was soon cancelled out Floyd Ayite, but a share of the spoils proved enough as Evian lost at home to St Etienne to suffer the drop.

Caen took the lead with the first decent chance for either side in the 10th minute when Sloan Privat met Nicolas Benezet's corner with a looping header to beat Alphonse Areola.

But Bastia's response took only two minutes, also coming from a corner as Ayite's powerful header beat Remy Vercoutre.

Five minutes later Bastia might have led, but Areola got a strong hand to Privat's angled shot.

Both sides had opportunities late in the half, but Bengali-Foda Koita's half-volley whizzed past Areola's right post before Yannick Cahuzac saw an effort fly over Vercoutre's bar after Caen failed to clear a free-kick.

Koita was denied by Areola at the start of the second half, while Vercoutre was on hand to deny Ayite a second of the evening as the hour mark was reached.

Bastia had a great chance to steal all three points late on, but, when a corner fell to substitute Djibril Cisse just yards out, the former Liverpool striker could only head over Vercoutre's crossbar.