Saint-Etienne 2 - 1 Guingamp: Final win in vain for St Etienne

St Etienne beat Guingamp 2-1 in their final game of the Ligue 1 season but it was not enough to propel them into the Champions League.

Monaco's victory at Lorient and Marseille's defeat of Bastia meant that St Etienne had to settle for fifth place despite finishing the campaign with just one loss in their last 13 games.

Max Gradel scored twice for the home side and, while Claudio Beauvue responded with a penalty, his brace was enough to secure victory.

Guingamp nearly had the lead inside 10 minutes as Jeremy Sorbon released Christophe Mandanne inside the penalty area but his shot was straight at Stephane Ruffier.

The opener almost came just after the half-hour as Gradel combined with Kevin Monnet-Paquet but the former Leeds striker scuffed his shot and Mamadou Samassa kept out the effort.

The lead was not long in coming, though, and in the 36th minute Gradel controlled Yohan Mollo's cross and volleyed home.

Mollo nearly had a goal of his own on the stroke of half-time but Samassa was on hand to save from the edge of the area.

The second goal came four minutes after the break, Gradel, Mollo and Monnet-Paquet combined down the right and the move ended with Gradel scoring from six yards.

Guingamp did not lie down, though, and when Moustapha Bayal Sall fouled Beauvue in the area, the striker made no mistake from the spot.

That seemed to spring St Etienne back to life and Fabien Lemoine unleashed a shot from distance and Gradel fired straight at the goalkeeper as the home side made it a positive end to the season.