Strasbourg sail beyond Monaco to secure French Cup quarter-final spot

Strasbourg halted Monacos short resurgence with a convincing 3-1 victory at home in the French Cup last Thursday.

Martial Godo put Strasbourg in front after only seven minutes with a header. Diego Moreira raced along the right flank, lifted the ball to the far post for Thilo Kehrer, who nodded it back into the six-yard box for the diving Godo.

Julio Enciso ignited a quick burst of goals by doubling the advantage on the 55th minute, timing his run to beat the offside trap, evading goalkeeper Philipp Koehn, and slotting the ball into the net.

Mika Biereth hit back almost immediately after the interval, directing a precise shot into the far corner of the goal.

Over the next three minutes, Enciso saw one effort blocked, then chipped another just over the crossbar, before claiming his brace by snapping up a loose ball to round the diving Koehn.

Monaco, having just clawed back from a recent slump by earning a place in the Champions League knockout playoffs and thrashing Rennes 4-0 in Ligue 1, endured yet another setback.

Meanwhile, Gary ONeil notched his fourth win in five outings as Strasbourg boss, since stepping in after Liam Rosenior joined Chelsea.

The fixture took place amid widespread supporter frustration.

Monaco away fans unfurled a banner calling for management to resign.

Right before the start, Strasbourg supporter organisations issued an open letter to French footballs governing bodies and the Sports Minister, slamming their clubs dependence on Chelsea, the key holding of BlueCo, which controls both outfits.

For the quarter-finals lined up in early March, Strasbourg will take on Reims, the last remaining second-division team in the tournament.

The draws big talking point from Thursday is the clash pitting Lyon, on an 11-match unbeaten run after beating Laval in Wednesdays last-16 tie, against Ligue 1 runners-up Lens.

The other pairings feature Marseille hosting Toulouse and Lorient welcoming Nice.