Saint-Etienne ideally launches its year against Reims

Saint-Étienne logically won at the expense of Reims (3-1) on Saturday, at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium during the 16^e day of Ligue 1, for the first on the bench of its new Norwegian coach Eirik Horneland.

Deprived at the last moment of the Georgian Zuriko Davitashvili, ill, Saint-Étienne ends a series of four defeats in a row including three in L1 and temporarily climbs from 16^e au 14^e rank while Reims is 10^e.

Thanks to a double from Augustine Boakye and a goal from Lucas Stassin, the Greens won their fifth victory of the season, all at home.

Horneland, who succeeded Olivier Dall’Oglio, who was sacked on December 14, declared upon his arrival that he wanted to give an offensive and intense style to his team.

His precepts on a positive attitude were applied by the Stéphanois, always taking the initiative despite many approximations, shared with the Rémois.

The latter, however, opened the scoring by Keito Nakamura who took a cross delivered from the right by Oumar Diakité (42^e).

Boakye et Lucas Stassin shines

The Greens were then punished for their lack of realism. Mathieu Cafaro was dangerous twice, with a shot off target after eliminating goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf (21^e), who then intervened in front of the Loire attacker (36^e).

In the meantime, an attempt by Louis Mouton hit the post (31^e).

But ASSE was more effective after half-time.

Augustine Boakye scored his first two goals with ASSE in nine matches in which he participated.

Recruited last summer at Wolfsberger (1^re div. Austrian), the Ghanaian equalized by taking back a cross delivered by Mickaël Nadé (50^e) before giving his team the advantage when receiving a cross from the right wing by Lucas Stassin (57^e).

Also arriving this summer, the young Belgian striker also scored his second goal this season at the end of the game, at the conclusion of a counter (80^e). Enough to regain confidence and give color to the Greens.