Spoils shared in Nice

St Etienne missed the chance to close the gap to third-placed Lyon after they were held to a 0-0 draw at Nice on Sunday in a match which saw both sides reduced to 10 men in the first half.St Etienne midfielder Ismael Diomande was sent off for his second bookable offence in the 37th minute for a poor tackle, while Nice midfielder Carlos Eduardo was dismissed shortly after for fighting.Despite each being a man down, both sides created opportunities in the second half, although neither were able to find the breakthrough.The result leaves ASSE three points adrift of Lyon while Nice remain in 11th place.Valentin Eysseric opened up proceedings in the first minute with a powerful strike from 25 yards that St Etienne goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier was forced to save.Ruffier then denied Nice defender Lloyd Palun at full stretch in the 19th minute as the home side started the brightest.Nice goalkeeper Simon Pouplin was called into action for the first time in the 34th minute when he made a stunning reflex save to deny Yohan Mollo's overhead kick at the near post.The game then briefly descended into chaos when Diomande was given his marching orders following a poor tackle with Eduardo departing moments later.The score was deadlocked at 0-0 at the break, but with even numbers on both sides, the game remained competitive.ASSE substitute Fabien Lemoine skimmed the bar with a superb volley in the 65th minute and Kevin Monnet-Paquet was only denied by a fantastic save by Pouplin with six minutes left on the clock.Eysseric went close shortly after at the other end for Nice, with Ruffier diving to his left to save the shot from inside the six-yard box.Max Gradel almost snatched a late win for St Etienne when he met an excellent cross from Monnet-Paquet with a left-footed volley which crashed against the post, however the score remained goalless at the final whistle.