Coupe de France: Puy Foot must stay the course in Agde to reach the 32nd finals

“It may have become a habit at Puy, but in the career of a N2 player, the 32nd finals of the Coupe de France can be counted on the fingers of one hand,” recalls Stéphane Dief, before seeing his team to play its place at this stage of the competition.

“Agde, technical quality above average for its level”

It is true that the years go by and the tradition continues, despite the large renewals of the squad each season. Over the last seven years, Le Puy Foot has qualified six times in the round of 32. A performance not to be trivialized since it is better than Clermont Foot (four out of seven) or AS Saint-Étienne (five out of seven), for comparison.

National 2: Le Puy Foot remains silent in Hyères but remains co-leader

To reach this level again, the Ciel et Blanc will have to negotiate their trip to Agde this weekend. For the first time in this campaign, they will not have to exclude a regional level opponent. After having released an R1 (Aurillac) and three R2s (Nord Lozère, Issoire and Comtal), the Vellaves will come up against a resident of National 3. The RCO Agde is currently seventh in its group, with a record of four successes for five defeats. “It’s a playful team,” reports Stéphane Dief. She has above-average technical quality for her level. But I also know that it will be deprived of good players in the offensive sector. »

In the previous round, the Héraultais had achieved a great performance by eliminating Romorantin, leader of N3, after penalties (1-1, 9 tab 8). The Ponots are therefore warned, it would be better to make the difference before the end of regulation time. Despite all the qualities detected in its opponent and the context of a trip the same day, Le Puy Foot will find it difficult to extricate itself from the status of favorite.It is a united group which will travel to Agde. Photo Lucas Jacquet

His start to the season borders on perfection with no defeats in fifteen games and only three goals conceded. “It’s rare to still be undefeated at this stage,” recognizes Stéphane Dief. This is proof of our collective strength, with an attack-defense balance that took us a little time to find. » Beyond the results, the technician is satisfied with the content delivered by his collective. “We created many chances, without conceding too many goals,” he sums up.

Tom Lebeau suspended

Last weekend, the meeting in Hyères (0-0) confirmed the good dispositions of the Dief group. “If any team has mastered the match, it’s ours,” analyzes the coach. There was a bit of waste in the last pass or the last gesture, but I think that's the truth of a single match. » The other good news at the moment is that the Ponot staff is counting on a complete group, without the slightest injury. He only has to deal with the sanctions.

If Yann Diebold makes his return, this time, it is Tom Lebeau who is forced to rest for an accumulation of yellow cards. While Abdelnour Soualhia will serve his fourth and penultimate match of suspension. Clearly, with a competitive group riding on excellent momentum, Le Puy Foot will have to display the same face as in recent weeks to perpetuate the tradition. And why not offer a new gala poster, before Christmas, at the Massot stadium.

Lucas Jacquet