Metz 3-0 Stade de Reims

Metz moved up to fifth in the Ligue 1 standings after a 3-0 victory over nine-man Reims at Stade Saint-Symphorien on Saturday.Striker Juan Manuel Falcon scored Metz's opener five minutes into the second half and netted their third in stoppage time after Ahmed Kashi had made the points safe with a 70th-minute strike.Reims suffered the indignity of finishing the match with just nine players after Chris Mavinga and Mats Albaek were sent off by referee Oliver Thual.Last year's Ligue 2 winners Metz are now just two points behind Ligue 1 pacesetters Marseille after winning three successive league matches, while Reims sit 17th after losing five of their first eight league encounters.The game was devoid of any clear-cut chances in the early exchanges and Metz midfielder Sergey Krivets was first to test Reims' rookie goalkeeper Cyrick Garel in the 26th minute after he had replaced injured stopper Sacha Bastien a few minutes earlier.The hosts should have been 1-0 up just before half-time, but Falcon fluffed his lines and Garel, making his professional debut, saved his tame effort to ensure it was all square at the interval.Falcon atoned for his wastefulness four minutes after the restart, however, when he managed to evade the attentions of two Reims defenders at the near post to head Albert Cartier's side into the lead.Reims never really looked like getting back into the match and their plight was hampered further when Mavinga was given his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card for a very rash challenge on Bouna Sarr in the 64th minute.Metz compounded Reims' misery five minutes later when they doubled their advantage in a similar manner to their opener.Gaetan Bussman beat his man down the left and Kashi headed powerfully past Garel, much to the delight of the majority assembled in the stadium.Reims coach Jean-Pierre Caillot was left even more frustrated when Albaek was dismissed four minutes from time for a two-footed lunge on Falcon, but it got worse for the visitors as the Venezuelan notched his second in the dying moments to add gloss to an already successful evening for the hosts.ends