Brest tames La Roche-sur-Yon without shining

La Roche-sur-Yon : 0
Brest : 1

Still diminished by injuries, with only two valid professional central defenders, Brest escaped without incident but without shining (1-0) from its trip to La Roche-sur-Yon (National 2), a very valiant team, on Saturday December 21, in 32^es final of the Coupe de France.

The very oily terrain, battered by cohabitation with FCY Rugby, which plays at the sixth national level, did not help the game to flourish. But the Yonnais put a lot of heart into thwarting the opposing offensives and using their rare offensive ammunition to the fullest.

Atmosphere in Henri-Desgrange

Center forward Matthieu Villette set the Stade Henri-Desgrange and its 7,000 spectators on fire from the 11th^e minute, with a magnificent sequence of chest control with his back to the goal and acrobatic return at the entrance to the area, which Grégoire Coudert deflected safely for a corner.

At the start of the second half, Axel Dablin also raised the decibels, missing the equalizer, a false rebound caused by a stubborn clod of earth causing him to completely unscrew his shot (56^e).

But it was especially in the very last minutes that the amateurs from La Roche-sur-Yon made the pros falter: Chérif Diallo saw his shot repelled by Coudert (88^e) and Anthony Civet missed the target for the equalizer at the end of added time (90^e + 5).

The Yonnais punished by Ajorque

Unfortunately for them, the Vendéens, who did not concede much to Brest throughout the match, were punished at the end of the first period.

Perhaps intoxicated by the atmosphere and their good performance, they took reckless risks on a ball release. Following a recovery from Jordan Amavi, Romain Faivre let his cross pass behind Ludovic Ajorque, whose powerful strike could not be sufficiently repelled by goalkeeper Imbad Ahamada (0-1, 40^e).

Well placed at number 11^e place in Ligue 1 and after a first part of the season where they played their European dream to the fullest, the Brestois will certainly end 2024 on the knees but they will spend the holidays in peace.