Stade Briochin, a fourth-tier club from the Breton town of Saint-Brieuc, pulled off a huge upset in the French Cup on Wednesday by beating top-flight Nice 2-1 in a round that saw two other Ligue 1 clubs knocked out by lower-tier teams.
Fourth division Stade Briochin stunned top-flight Nice 2-1 to reach the French Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday with a performance the minnows' coach admitted was beyond his "wildest dreams".
Nice, fifth in Ligue 1 and chasing a place in Europe next season, were ahead in the tie thanks to Tom Louchet's 55th-minute effort.
However, Stade Briochin levelled in the 88th minute through Boubacar Diakhaby before Hugo Boudin scored the winner in stoppage time to send the Brittany club through to the last-eight for the first time.
"It's extraordinary. Even in our wildest dreams, we didn't imagine that," admitted coach Guillaume Allanou, who also doubles up as president and sporting director of the club.
"Clearly, we were dealing with very, very high level players, many of them internationals," he added. "We absolutely had to be hyper-vigilant, hyper-focused on everything."
Stade Briochin will not be the only team from National 2 in the quarter-finals, with Cannes beating third-tier Dives-Cabourg 5-3 to advance.
It was night of shocks in the competition because Guingamp, from second-tier Ligue 2, defeated Ligue 1 stalwarts Toulouse 2-0.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP)
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