Troyes have given themselves a fighting chance of retaining their Ligue 1 status with a 1-0 win against Ajaccio away from home.

The visitors made most of the running in the opening minutes, as Stephane Darbion headed Mohamed Yattara's cross wide.

They then took the lead at Stade François Coty in the 17th minute when Florian Jarjat headed home Darbion's delivery at the near post.

Ajaccio could have restored parity almost immediately had Paul Lasne been able to keep his shot on target from just inside the Troyes penalty box.

Soon after, Lasne saw his effort from 25 yards strike the Troyes post and Adrian Mutu fired over the crossbar before the half-time interval.

The hosts had another good chance to equalise on the hour mark when Dennis Oliech found himself at the end of a loose Jeremie Brechet back pass, but his shot from a tight angle was kept out by Yohann Thuram-Ulien.

Then against the run of play Troyes almost scored their second goal of the evening as Yattara dragged his shot from a good position.

The result leaves Troyes second from bottom in the league table with 34 points from 36 matches, while Ajaccio are now five points above the relegation zone in 14th.