In this section, Le Petit Lillois gives the floor to Lille supporters at the end of each of its meetings. This time, three of them were questioned following the draw conceded by LOSC in Montpellier (2-2) in Ligue 1.
Lille's good series continues. Despite the sequence of matches, LOSC stays the course and remains undefeated for thirteen matches in all competitions. However, everything did not go as planned in Montpellier, where victory was achieved a few minutes before the end of the match and Arnaud Nordin's late equalizer (90+4′) in added time. The latter was the source of great frustration among the Mastiffs, players and public included.
This meeting was commented on by Morgane, Yan and Romane, three supporters interviewed cold, more than a day after the final whistle. Their remarks are an opportunity to return one last time to the recently contested game, but from a different perspective from what we can traditionally see in the local and French press.
A question of feeling
The Montpellier sun, worthy of a beautiful spring afternoon, welcomed LOSC with warmth and gentleness. It was then difficult to adapt to the local roughness. The fight was also long, very long, even too long, and twice, in the first (45+2′) then in the second half (90+4′), the Mastiffs saw their nets shake in added time. It was thus, during these few extra minutes, that they twice lost their advantage and conceded a draw (2-2).
“This match between Lille and Montpellier was very closed in midfield. So there were a lot of fouls and not a ton of chances. I find that Lille was a little superior in clear chances with a lot of tension nonetheless for Montpellier. They definitely shouldn't lose.”analyzes Yan, to begin with.
« I honestly think it was a shitty matchsummarizes Romane. Whether it is the match itself and all the context around itshe insists. We didn't have the match of the year on the field, we must do better against weaker opponents. It is no longer possible to fail to take 3 points against the bottom of the rankings”she still rages.
The emotions will not subside with Morgane who, too, is still touched by the scenario of the meeting:
” Sincerely, It's been almost 48 hours since the match ended, but I'm still at the bottom of the holeshe still manages to declare with a smile. We didn't have the match of the year, that's clear, but we still had three points within reach. I don't see how anyone can feel anything other than frustration or disappointment. Oh yes! We think a lot of Rémy Cabella »she finally exclaimed.
Where is the serenity?
We thought, like each of the parts, to start with a little introduction, but it must be said that Morgane did it very well without us: “With the exception of Rennes, and again, we were caught at the end of the match in our last three Ligue 1 matches with Lyon, Nice and Montpellier. These are different adversities, with varying levels, which therefore means that the problem comes from usshe begins. I see the block split in two. One part wants to continue to advance, to attack, to preserve the essence of the Lille game, when the other part of the team withdraws, retreats little by little, even if it means unbalancing the entire group. But it’s hard to know where it comes from.”she asks herself.
“It’s fear.continues Yan. We are afraid to enjoy ourselves in front, since we very rarely score three or four goals, then the fear of being equalized at the end of the match. I also find that we can sometimes see ourselves as too beautiful and superior. Everything is calm, we are in control, then suddenly we are taken back. It happened three times in a row anyway, it’s something to think about”he asserts. Romane joins him. She emphasizes in particular “the tense atmosphere” and the « climat
hostile » in which the Mastiffs played on the pitch in Montpellier. His conclusion, however, is simple:
“We have to be able to keep the scores, it’s a necessity if we want the podium. »
That little extra thing
But ultimately, what was really missing at LOSC to grab three points in Montpellier? This question allows Yan and Romane to come together: “We should have tried our luck more, tried to kill the match. We played too much ball”the last named is still annoyed.
“We would have had to attack the opposing defense which seemed quite mediocre to me on the sides, and alternate between incursions into the area and center. It's the variety that allows you to shake up your opponent. Instead, we played too much in the middle and sometimes just dropped back and turned the ball.”he judges.
Morgane takes the opposite angle. In his eyes, the Lille people had done the job until they lost their serenity:
“I find that it can happen to be less inspired offensively. We were a little messy, it's true, but we still managed to score two goals. So the problem is not there in my eyes. It is rather our management of the end of the match which is failing us. As the minutes pass, we lose all control and this always benefits the opponent who recovers the balls from higher up and corners us. However, we must be able, at least from my point of view, to resist this type of scenario. We can't always ask our attackers to score four goals per game.”she believes, echoing the point previously mentioned.
A misleading series?
Despite the frustration that emerges from the result achieved in Montpellier, LOSC still remains on a series of thirteen matches without defeat. However, this is dotted with draws, particularly in the championship (5 draws, against 4 wins):
“It’s certain that we don’t advance in the standings with draws. There's no point entering a piece of land and telling yourself to keep it at all costs. The most important thing remains the three points and they must be acquired quickly”insists Yan, ready to record a victory (+3) then a defeat (0) rather than two consecutive draws (+2). It's ultimately just mathematics.
This bias is not the one followed by Romane. If she believes that certain results could have been more positive, such as against Nice (2-2) and Montpellier (2-2), she also judges that this dynamic is proof of the beautiful face displayed by the Mastiffs:
“Our series is not misleading, she asserts.
I think that we must not neglect what we have done, especially with the schedule we had and the sequence of matches. »
The final word is for Morgane, who seems to split the pear in two with a rather synthetic analysis of the situation:
“There is truth and falsehood in this questionshe begins. The reality is that it is not possible to hide this beautiful series. The club and the players manage to perform with regularity. This is what allows us to be where we are currently, fourth in Ligue 1 and qualified for the round of 16 of the Champions League. Who can spit on this first part of the season? Absolutely no one. On the other hand, the nuance is there, it is that there are points lost awkwardly on the right and on the left. What is positive is that the group is aware of this and will be able to work on the subject. The observation is made, all that is needed is to have the trigger and to improve. It's also up to the supporters to progress with their players, to get down to their level. It's up to us, at least at home, to push them enough at the end of each match so that this fear goes away! »concludes the Lille supporter, ready to make her voice heard inside the Decathlon Arena – Stade Pierre Mauroy. A way to revive Vahid Time?
