French Football Cup (7th round): AF Biars Bretenoux to mark the history of the club

For the third time in six years, AF Biars Bretenoux will compete in the seventh round of the Coupe de France.
After the matches against Aurillac (Nationale 3) in 2018 then against Bergerac (Nationale 2) in 2022, the Biarnais have another meeting this Saturday with their history.
For this third match counting for the seventh round of the French Cup in the history of the club, the players of coach Patrick Gauthier will play, this time, away since they will travel on Saturday to the field of the team of FC Espaly (match at 6 p.m.).
This Haute-Loire team located near Puy-en-Velay is playing this season in Pool I of Nationale 3 and after eight days of the championship occupies tenth place in the standings with 9 points and a record of three victories and five defeats, imposing in particular against the third in the group Thonon Évian Gaillard 2 to 1. At the same time, the Espaly players are experiencing a great adventure in the cup where they reached the 7th round by notably eliminating the R1 team of FC Velay in the 3rd round (2 to 0) then the Nationale 3 team of Moulins Yzeure Foot in the 5th round (1 to 0).
“It’s a team that has strengths in all its lines, whether in defense, midfield, or attack,” says the Biarnais coach.

“A historic turning point for both teams”

For its part, AF Biars Bretenoux, currently ranked 11th in Group B of R1 of the Occitanie league, made its way to the 7th round having played all its matches away.

After winning at Pradines then at Bagnac, the players of coach Patrick Gauthier had three successes on the field of three Regional 3 teams: Montbazens Rignac (1 to 0), Trèbes (2-2, 5 shots on goal to 3) and Saint-Orens (1 to 0).
“For the first time since the beginning of our adventure, we are going to be confronted with someone bigger than us” points out Patrick Gauthier who expects his group “to raise their level even further in a match where there will be a lot of intensity knowing that this is a historic turning point for one or the other since neither we nor they have ever reached the eighth round in the Coupe de France” specifies the Biarnais coach.

“Let each player sublimate”

A week after the short 1-0 defeat conceded against Tarbes in the championship (“a match which will serve us when we know that against a team close to the level of N3, we were able to take the upper hand at the end of the match while we were outnumbered”), the AFBB “will have nothing to lose in this meeting. Espaly are one division above us and will be playing at home. During the two previous times, where we found ourselves in the 7th round it did not matter much (against Aurillac (N3), the AFBB, then in R3, had pushed its opponent into overtime before “losing 3 to 2, then in 2022 against Bergerac (N2), the Lotois had led 1 to 0 before losing 2 to 1) and since then we have grown” remembers Patrick Gauthier who believes that an exploit on Saturday in Haute-Loire “will require not only our ability to raise our level but also to surpass ourselves and our duties by adding a little grain of madness. The players have to fully experience this meeting, to surprise me. The magical effect of the Coupe de France can only happen if each player is capable of sublimating themselves.”

Julien Ruard: “We will have nothing to lose”

While the flag team of AF Biars Bretenoux prepares to experience a new historic moment with this match of the 7th round of the Coupe de France on Saturday in Espaly, the president of the Biarnais club Julien Ruard says he is “proud to see the club will play a match in the seventh round of the Coupe de France for the third time in its history. The players sought this qualification and they have the opportunity to mark the history of the club by taking it to the eighth round for the first time.”

For this match which will be played this Saturday on the field of an Espaly team which plays in Nationale 3 “we will have nothing to lose against a team which evolves above and which is made up of players who have evolved more high. We are going to play on our qualities, our strengths.”
For this third match of the seventh round of the French Cup in the history of the AFBB club (after the match against Aurillac in 2018 and against Bergerac in 2022), it is a “very motivated” Biarnais group which tackles this appointment. The entire regional group took ownership of this adventure.
Since the beginning of our adventure in the Coupe de France, we have always played away and the group of players wants to offer an eighth round match at home to its supporters,” indicates the Biarnais president who, for several days, has eyes fixed on this Saturday meeting. “I can't wait to be there, to watch this match and, I hope, to celebrate the victory. We dream of it! »