Lille leave it late to seal French Cup triumph

                                                  

Ludovic Obraniak netted with a bizarre late free kick as double hopefuls Lille lifted the French Cup and their first major trophy since 1955 with a 1-0 win over last season's winners Paris St Germain on Saturday.PSG goalkeeper Gregory Coupet, retiring at the end of the season, misjudged Obraniak's wide free kick which drifted over his head and went in off the post after 89 minutes.Coupet redeemed himself slightly by saving Mathieu Debuchy's penalty moments later but the damage had been done as Ligue 1 leaders Lille took their sixth French Cup.Lille could wrap up their first league title since 1954 and their first double since 1946 with two matches to spare if second-placed Olympique Marseille lose at FC Lorient on Sunday and "the Mastiffs" beat Sochaux in Wednesday's game in hand.Dominant in the 1940s and 50s, Lille had slipped down the pecking order in France but the northerners are now very much at the top of the game and eagerly grabbed the trophy from French president Nicolas Sarkozy at the ticker-tape presentation.In a match of few chances in front of a packed Stade de France, Rudi Garcia's Lille just about edged the dull encounter before it burst into life late on.Gervinho wasted an opening from an early counter-attack while Lille defender Adil Rami headed over and Ligue 1 top scorer Moussa Sow thrashed the ball just too high from distance.PSG's only real sniff of a goal before the break was when Lille keeper Mikael Landreau was forced to save Nene's free kick with his legs and the second period brought even less goalmouth action for Antoine Kambouare's team.PSG, in six of the last nine finals including Saturday's clash, had veterans Claude Makelele and Ludovic Giuly in their team but not even their experience could help break down a Lille side who have prospered this term thanks to dogged hard work.Winger Eden Hazard has often been the player to add the flair during Lille's surprise return to the upper echelons of French soccer but even he failed to shine on the day Inter Milan boss Leonardo denied reports his side have bid for the Belgian.The game looked highly likely to end goalless after 90 minutes until the unexpected late drama.