The 0/0 draw against Nantes on May 4 confirmed that Stade Brestois was sticking its tongue out in the final sprint. Already qualified for a European Cup next year, but in the race to access the prestigious Champions League, the Bretons must give one last push against Reims.
Thanks to the twisted victory, Monday May 6, from Lyon (4-3) to Lille, their immediate pursuer, the Bretons have their fate between their feet.
Clinging to their 3rd place which sends them directly to the C1 group stage, they are two steps ahead of Losc, 4th, who should theoretically go through a play-off.
Read also. Brest qualified for the Champions League. The different scenarios
But against Nantes, Brest coach Eric Roy, exceptionally placed in the stands for accumulation of yellow cards, did not recognize his team.
“In the offensive animation, we were less inspired”, he admitted after the match. “I wondered if it was from my position, a little higher up, that I found that we were a little slow, we lacked a little rhythm, we were less dynamic than in certain matches. But the staff who were on the edge of the field confirmed that to me a little too”, he noted.
Long solid and combative throughout its matches, Stade Brestois is experiencing, at the end of the season, some more or less penalizing air gaps.
If he managed to win against Metz (4-3) after leading (4-1), or at Rennes (5-4), in added time after seeing the Reds and Blacks come back from (2- 4) at (4-4), he was overthrown in Lyon by losing (4-3) after leading (3-1).
Before that, he also had all the difficulty in the world to win in Lorient (1-0) with a goal in the 86th minute, generally against the run of play.
The goalless draw against Nantes at least gave the impression that Brest had found its defense after 12 goals scored but 13 conceded in the previous four days, although it had the best defense in the championship before that.
With the reception of Reims, which is experiencing a turbulent end to the season with the early departure of its emblematic coach Will Still, then a trip to Toulouse when Lille will go to Nantes and receive Nice, the distance fight for 3rd place promises to be very indecisive.
“What can make the difference is not having your potential for the last matches”Roy had said on May 4.
“We’ve had it practically all season. We’ve had virtually no injuries (…) but it’s obvious that if we have two or three ‘out’ players, we don’t have depth of squad like many teams and in particular those who are fighting with us for the Champions League”, he emphasized.
However, Brest is trembling for two of its main offensive assets, its metronome Pierre Lees-Melou and its will-o’-the-wisp Romain Del Castillo, who were injured in the first period against Nantes, injured in a calf.
“For Pierre and Romain, we will take stock but it’s true that it seems complicated” to be delivered on Friday, Roy had admitted.
Whether it finishes 3rd, 4th or even 5th and finally qualifies only for the Europa League (it would have to lose its last two matches and Nice win its own, for that), Brest will reach the best ranking in its history and discover the Europe next season.
But this group, which has learned ambition throughout the season, is not ready to give up on its stated objective: “finish as high as possible”.
