A solitary effort from Pablo Chavarria earned Lens a vital three points at the foot of the Ligue 1 table with a slender 1-0 victory over fellow strugglers Toulouse this evening.
Lens almost went ahead in the first minute when Jerome Le Moigne shot from an obscure angle, only to be denied by Zacharie Boucher in the Toulouse goal.
The visitors looked to respond as Oscar Trejo made progress down the wing, but Wissam Ben Yedder was unable to profit from the cross as he headed wide of the target.
Lalaina Nomenjanahary appeared threatening for Lens and he almost helped to put the hosts into the lead with a smart cross into the box, before later having a long-range shot smartly kept out by Boucher in the centre of goal.
The home side grabbed the decisive goal in the 76th minute through Chavarria, who drilled into the centre of goal following Wylan Cyprien's cross.
Toulouse could have stolen a point late on in the fixture, but Adrien Regattin's attempt from range flew just a few inches past the Lens post as the hosts secured a vital win.