Lorient achieved their first win since September after they defeated local rivals Rennes in the Brittany Derby at the Stade du Moustoir.
The win was also new manager Bernard Casoni's first since he took over at the start of the month.
Michael Ciani opened the scoring for Lorient after 28 minutes with a bullet header following a corner.
However, a defensive error by captain Zargo Touré allowed Kamil Grosicki to feed Giovanni Sio to hit into a gaping net to level.
Just after the break, the home side regained the lead through Majeed Waris who found the net from two yards out.
Predictable first half based on record
Both sides went into the match majorly unchanged - Vincent Le Goff dropped out for Erwin Koffi at Lorient while Grosicki returned to the starting 11 in place for injured Yoann Gourcuff for Rennes.
The first chance of the game came seven minutes in for the hosts when Miguel Cafú header from the middle of the box was deflected out for a corner by Romain Danzé.
Not long after at the other end, Joris Gnagnon's header at the near post wasn't powerful enough to trouble Paul Delecroix.
Lorient took the lead after 28 minutes when Ciani rose above the rest to power a header of his own into the bottom left of the net.
Known for leaking goals, it wasn't unpredictable when Rennes restored parity only four minutes later through Sio.
Touré was slack at the back allowing Grosicki to snatch the ball before playing in Sio to curl his shot around Delecroix.
The hosts looked stronger going into the break but couldn't find the ideal chance to take the lead again.
Surprise lead allows hosts to hold on
Lorient started the half as strong as possible when they went a goal in front for the second time in the game through once Rennes target Waris.
Strike partner Benjamin Moukandjo held off his man to get a shot away inside the box but was diverted in by two yards from Waris.
First thoughts were that the scorer snatched the goal from his teammate, however, replays show Moukandjo's original effort was heading out of play.
Rennes huffed and puffed to find the leveller but Lorient remained strong and structured throughout and reduced the amount of opportunities for their opponents.
The late heroics by Delecroix sealed all three points for Les Merlus after denying Paul-Georges Ntep from point blank range four minutes before the regulatory 90.
The win for Lorient was vitally important as Lille managed a victory against SM Caen in the other early kick-off.
The defeat for Rennes wasn't needed in their attempt to keep fourth place, especially with a fixture against Saint-Etienne at the weekend to come.