Backed by a vociferous home crowd, Reims came flying out of the blocks but couldn’t open the scoring with Mory Gbane seeing his shot saved after a low cross was unconvincingly dealt with.
Koffi Kouao then made a vital tackle to halt Keito Nakamura in the box, before Ange Martial Tia became the latest Reims player who couldn’t make the most of an inviting low cross, this time firing harmlessly over the crossbar.
The commitment or intent of either team couldn’t be questioned in a breathless first half, but those wasted opportunities, and Metz’s poor passes in potentially dangerous areas hinted at a lack of quality at times - so much so that the biggest showing of composure in the opening half-hour came from Reims goalkeeper Yehvaan Diouf sitting down Cheikh Sabaly.
Amadou Kone then placed his shot wide after cutting out a loose pass, before Nakamura’s shot was blocked.
There was no drop-off in intensity after the restart, with Tia heading wide from an inviting Oumar Diakite cross shortly before Kevin Van Den Kerkhof fired over.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 57th minute, when Junya Ito controlled the ball in the box and Tia took over to fire past Pape Sy and inspire rapturous celebrations in the Stade Auguste-Delaune.
Les Grenats responded well to the setback, but struggled to find a route through to Diouf’s goal.
After Mamadou Diakhon wasted a chance at the other end, Matthieu Udol found an opening and made the most of it, pouncing on Valentin Atangana’s loose pass and then beating him before hitting a strike that Diouf couldn’t keep out despite getting a hand to it to restore parity.
Pape Amadou Diallo and Ito had a shot saved at either end as the match went to extra-time, where both teams continued to push with Urie-Michel Mboula heading off-target and Ito striking agonisingly wide having drifted inside in the first period.
In the 110th minute, Gauthier Hein made one of many tireless runs and backheeled the ball to Alpha Toure, who smashed the ball into the bottom corner to give Metz the lead.
Hein then made absolutely sure of the result by hitting an outrageous strike from just inside Reims’ half that sailed over Diouf, as Metz experienced yet more joy on the road - having won a league-high 29 away points in Ligue 2 - to secure their immediate return to the top tier.
In contrast, Reims lost out on their place in Ligue 1 just five days after missing out on the Coupe de France title.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Gauthier Hein (Metz)
