After Nantes’ draw against ASSE, Antoine Kombouaré, the coach of FC Nantes, was as much dejected for these new points dropped by his team as he was satisfied by the quality of play offered by his men. He also discusses the expulsion of Marcus Coco at the very end of the match…
Antoine Kombouaré (Nantes coach): “A big disappointment, a huge disappointment, because I am torn. I liked what the players showed, I liked everything we put in place. We completely dominated this Saint-Étienne team in all areas. And finally, we came out of this match with a draw, even though we led 2-0. It’s really disappointment that dominates. It’s incredible. You are facing an opponent who doesn’t show much, and behind them, they manage to score two goals. The disappointment is there: we were not able to keep the score. Afterwards, I like the way we play. I like what we provide in terms of situations and emotions to the public. It’s good. But you have to be efficient, you have to be realistic. This is what we missed today.
Anger? No, not really. We are disappointed, of course, but anger… I am sometimes angry with the referees, but here, concerning my group, it’s a lot of disappointment, never anger. I’m angry if we are completely dominated, if we lose all our duels. But that wasn’t the case today. We had a good match, hence the immense disappointment. »
Kombouaré: “ Anger? No, not really”
Antoine Kombouaré (Nantes coach): “Regarding my group, it’s frustrating because they do very good things, sometimes even great things. But we can’t win these matches. We feel like we’ve done the hardest part, and yet we can’t keep up the score. This is where the disappointment is the greatest. Football is made of mistakes. We need to work to correct this. In a week, we are going to Lyon. But if we play like this every weekend, there is a good chance that we will end up winning these matches.
The expulsion of Marcus Coco? The referee simply explained to me that Marcus Coco was never insulting or aggressive, but the fact that he came to stand in front of him was enough to get the red card. I told him that a yellow would have been enough, but he replied that the players are examples, and that we should not show this kind of image to young people. I found it very, very harsh. I have difficulty understanding this red card. Afterwards, he gave his explanations, and we did not agree. He stuck to his position, and I stuck to mine. »
A mental problem at FC Nantes?
Antoine Kombouaré (Nantes coach): “It’s been three games where we are leading, but above all three games where we have the feeling of completely dominating our opponents. It’s a lot of disappointment. We must learn to manage this advantage, to widen the gap, and to keep the score. But not by constantly defending: against this Saint-Étienne team, we continued to defend while moving forward. Unfortunately, we conceded two goals from set pieces. We were not in a position to be caught against. This is where we need to be more efficient on set pieces.
It’s a mental problem today: we can’t keep the score once we take the lead. This does not take away from what we are capable of showing. This team is perhaps one of the best I have coached in Nantes. We are capable of developing the game, and we have confidence in what we do with the ball. It’s interesting. Defensively, we are strong, we concede few situations to the opponent. We must continue in this register, and things will eventually change.
The intervention of the VAR? No, I’ve talked about it enough. I said what I had to say to the referee. I will always repeat myself: the main referee, in whom we, the coaches, trust, must consult the VAR himself before making a decision. This is what disappoints me. Once he has made his decision, we respect it. But today, at 2-0, we must be able to not concede these two goals. »
