After a relatively quiet start to the contest, the away side went close to opening the scoring with 17 minutes on the clock. A through ball gave Keito Nakamura the chance to break into the area, but the Japanese forward cut inside onto his right foot and sent his effort crashing back off the crossbar.
After almost taking the lead, Lyon nevertheless found themselves behind just five minutes later, as Noah Edjouma’s precise first-time effort flew just inside the left post.
The Gones had failed to score before half-time in six of their last seven away matches, and they never looked likely to draw level before the break.
Jorge Maciel’s side dominated possession and had twice as many touches inside the opposition penalty area, but they lacked the clinical touch required, perhaps showing some after-effects of Thursday’s trip to Real Sociedad in the UEFA Europa League.
Lyon’s attacking struggles continued in the opening stages of the second half, but just after the hour mark they thought they had been given a golden opportunity to draw level when Kail Boudache was adjudged to have been brought down by Gautier Lloris.
However, after being sent to the pitchside monitor, Jeremy Stinat reversed his decision and instead booked Boudache for simulation. Things nearly got worse for the visitors moments later, but Dominik Greif was alert to deny Edjouma at close range as he pushed the ball around his left post.
The Pirates managed to negotiate the closing stages, and they were awarded a penalty in the third minute of added time when Bradley Locko was brought down by Zachary Athekame.
From 12 yards, Ludovic Ajorque made no mistake to seal the win. As such, Brest ended their eight-match wait for a home clean sheet in Ligue 1 in the process, and climbed two places to ninth.
Lyon, meanwhile, failed to muster a single shot on target in a desperately disappointing second-half display, as interim boss Maciel failed to prevent the Gones from losing a third successive Ligue 1 away game in the same season for the first time since the 2022/23 campaign.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Bradley Locko (Brest)
