In this low-ranking shock, between a Nîmes Olympique stuck in the relegation places of the Ligue 1 football rankings and Stéphanois barely better ranked at kick-off, the match at Costières de Nîmes strongly resembled a fratricidal duel worthy of an American western. Woe to the loser!
Great sun, little wind, lawn copiously watered just before the match, two experienced teams on the meadow …… Everything was gathered this Sunday April 4 to attend a real beautiful football match. And the many spectators in the boxes (!) As well as the journalists present in the press gallery were not disappointed. On the bench, the two coaches, Pascal Plancque in Nîmes and Claude Puel in the Foréziens, had a very precise idea of what had to be done to win this match.
The latter, passed through Lyon, Monaco and Nantes in particular in his long coaching career, has no equal when it comes to making itself heard by its 11 players lined up on the Gard lawn. ” Chaaaaaaarles (Abi), you stop a bit, replace yourself ! This is the message the green coach has repeatedly shouted at his striker. The latter did not take long to regain his place on the front lines of the Stéphane attack. A particularly useful replacement when the green attackers began to be really dangerous against the block of the Nîmes crocs, set up by the opposing manager.
Moreover, it was against a backlash from Saint-Etienne that the untenable attacking midfielder Wahbi Khazri opened the scoring with an overpowering shot with his right foot which came to rest in the skylight of Gard, leaving Nîmes goalkeeper Baptiste Reynet helpless. His teammates scolded the referee, deeming the opposing player to be offside at the start of the action. Referee Mathieu Léonard remained deaf to the protests and endorsed the goal of the visitors of the day. (0/1. 21st).
Deaf, the referee did not stay long afterwards.
But this time it’s the injured players in the crocs and present in the stadium box as well as the staff of the Gard on the edge of the lawn which was in the sights of the refereeing trio. More and more vehement, the locals regularly railed against arbitration decisions. (0/1. 26th).
In the last quarter of an hour, the Gardois rebelled, finally. They managed to open the scoring following a mess in the Stéphanoise area. Responsive, the linesman signaled a contentious offside situation. The field referee therefore canceled the Gard goal, causing a newcomer from the Gard stands. Determined to take a very precious 3 points on the Gard lands, the dominating Stéphanois quickly returned to the locker room, well aware of having taken an interesting advantage in the score. (0/1. Half time.)
Well in place, the Stéphanois dominated the entire second half.
Apathetic at times and not very offensive in the end, the Gardois have at the same time produced very little play, to the chagrin of their coach, Pascal Plancque.
Sign of the domination of the teammates of a Wahbi Khazri, released by his coach after a good hour of play, the Stéphanois widened the gap on the scoreboard on another ultra fast counter, this time well concluded by Denis Bouanga, with a sudden strike of the left foot that ended she also in the skylight of a Baptiste Reynet, nailed to his line and put to death by the offensive waves of Saint-Etienne. (0/2. 67th.). Mass could have been definitively said if the third goal scored a few tens of seconds later by Romain Hamouma for the Stéphanois had not finally been refused for offside by the arbitral trio, following the interminable intervention of the arbitration video.
Conversely, a sign of Gard apathy, Renaud Ripart missed a penalty in the 83rd minute. A shot on goal very generously granted by M Léonard, central referee, on a more than slight fault by the Stéphanois goalkeeper Étienne Green, until then absolutely impeccable for his first start in the goal of the Greens. Faulty, but quickly refocused, the young Saint Etienne goalkeeper countered the soft strike from Gard.
Well helped by their promising young goalkeeper and a game plan decided by Claude Puel and applied to the rule by the Greens, the Nîmes bowed more than logically on their lawn. The Greens were therefore 7 points ahead of the relegation zone. The Gardois, them, remain stuck in the places of relegation.
Definitely very fitClaude Puel could breathe and let his satisfaction scream at the final whistle after spending 90 minutes replacing his young team. Young, but much superior in many areas tonight, against a very worrying team from the Gard.
Post-game reactions
Renaud Ripart (Nîmes Olympique, Forward and captain) : ” We do a non-match and it makes me ch…. We are not allowed to have a shitty match like that. We win in Lille and then we do that… pff… It’s a hell of a wake-up call. We’re doing a non-match. We all missed our game. We all have to get our heads back together very quickly. We had to make a good start, play them high… We didn’t do anything. They, opposite, were very good. They were more efficient in front of goal, more present in all the duels. From the start they were good in the game, we weren’t. Tonight, we miss a small turning point at the end of the season, because we wanted to hook them in the fight for maintenance. It missed. We didn’t have the chance to win it this game and that’s what pisses me off even more. “
Pascal Plancque (Nîmes Olympique, coach) : ” It’s not a game to forget. We were at 50/60% of our capacity tonight and faced with such an opponent, we saw the difference. It’s a return to earth. We had a lot of praise lately. Nothing has worked for us today. We will talk about it among ourselves, with the players in training tomorrow morning. We’re going to have to explain. And afterwards, you have to quickly refocus on the rest. It will happen very quickly. What annoys me is that we are able to win in Lille, which is fighting for the title of Champion of France, and right after, we have a match like that. We weren’t good tonight. I sit with the players. Neither have been good, neither they nor I. Opposite, they have a good match, a serious match. You have to roll up your sleeves quickly and you have to win back matches very quickly. We wanted to hang Saint Etienne to lead them with us in the fight for maintenance. It didn’t happen like that. No big deal. Good for them. We must quickly refocus, because the rest will happen very quickly. “
Claude Puel (AS Saint Etienne, manager): ” At the start of the match, we felt two teams were very tense by the stakes, more than by the game. We were well in place. We waited for them. We did some good things in defense. We were serious. The forwards scored two magnificent goals. Matches like these are played on details. Tonight, things are working in our favor and that’s good. (On the struggle for maintenance. St Etienne is now 7 points ahead of Nîmes …) That’s not how I analyze it. We all know that we have 7 games left so 21 points at stake. We need some to stay in league 1. We are missing 5, 6 so we still have to work. We have to win other games. We put them at a safe distance, of course, but nothing is done, neither for them nor for us. Tonight, we have a good match. We remained very united. Tonight, not like in some recent games, we have a lot of chances and this time we are making it happen. I would have liked the goal of Romain (Hamouma) to be validated and not refused for offside. But that’s how it is. (On the penalty whistled for Nîmes at the end of the match.). That leaves me … I don’t even understand that you can whistle fouls like that. I sincerely do not understand. This story is going crazy. There, I am told that the goalkeeper touches the attacker before the latter pushes the ball and therefore there is a penalty. For me… I don’t know. But I do not understand that it can be whistled. (On the performance of the young Saint Etienne goalkeeper Etienne Green.) It’s his first game tonight. He’s like the team: serious. He was a shy, withdrawn, hard-working boy, but not very talkative with others. So, I must point out the enormous work of André Biancarelli (ASSE goalkeeper coach, editor’s note) to transform it. We signed him in 2019 as a pro goalie, Étienne Green, and he gained self-confidence and confidence. It can be felt on the ground. His performance did not surprise me. Even on the penalty … he looks at me … he will get on the goal line and he refocuses immediately by stopping the shot from Nîmes. He does a good performance tonight. Now, we must quickly concentrate on the rest. It’s important to stay focused and supportive.
Mahdi Camara (AS Saint Etienne, player) : ” Tonight, we have a big match against a direct competitor. We are all very happy to win this match. We were very efficient in front of goal, whether it was Wahbi (Khazri) or Denis (Bouanga). They have two hell of a goal. Afterwards, we knew how to stay focused, not to scatter. We played as a block. Concentrated, we finished the match together and it smiled on us. (Regarding the performance of Etienne Green, goaltender.) He’s a good guy who works in training. He is very attentive to the advice given to us and the staff. It is posed. Tonight, he is playing a match in his image. It’s serious. ”