Valentin Eysseric's second-half penalty earned Saint-Etienne a point in Ligue 1 this evening, as Christophe Galtier's side came from behind to snatch a 1-1 draw against Rennes at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
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Etienne came close in the opening minutes of the contest and they might have found the lead, only for Kevin Monnet-Paquet to see his header saved in the centre of goal by Rennes keeper Benoit Costil.
Monnet-Paquet returned not long after to chance his foot once more, before Rennes registered their first attempt following a tame effort from Gelson Fernandes.
Rennes slowly grew into the contest and they went ahead five minutes before the break thanks to Pedro Henrique, who profited from Giovanni Sio's pass before tucking into the bottom-right corner of goal.
Eitenne had a chance to equalise straight after the interval, although Loic Perrin proved wasteful as he headed over the bar from close range having climbed highest inside the box.
The hosts continued to apply the pressure in the second period and they proved profligate once more, this time as Neal Maupay sent his header wide from the six-yard area.
Etienne's dominance finally told, however, when Sylvain Armand brought down Romain Hamouma in the area, allowing Eysseric to fire home from the spot in order to pull the hosts level at 1-1.
The home side had the bit between their teeth going into the closing embers, but they were unable to force a winner as Pierre-Yves Polomat fired wide from distance, leaving the game to end in a draw.
Christopher Dodd
