Toulouse end Annecy's run to reach French Cup final

PARIS : Toulouse reached the French Cup final when Fares Chaibi's late goal earned them a 2-1 victory at Annecy, ending the Ligue 2 side's odds-defying run in the competition on Thursday.

Chaibi struck with five minutes left after Alexy Bosetti's penalty had cancelled out Zakaria Aboukhlal's opener for Toulouse, sending the Ligue 1 team into their maiden French Cup finals after five failed attempts in previous semi-finals.

They will take on holders Nantes, who beat Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 on Wednesday to qualify for the Stade de France showdown on April 29.

At Annecy's Parc des Sports, Aboukhlal broke the deadlock on 36 minutes with a header, but Annecy replied in first-half stoppage time.

Bosetti converted a penalty after being brought down in the box, sending the crowd into raptures after the club from Haute Savoie had knocked out Olympique de Marseille in the quarter-finals.

Chaibi, however, dashed their hopes in the 85th minute from close range after benefiting from a defensive blunder by Arnold Temanfo.