It’s well known: all series have an end. Facing the Canaries for the fifth time in its history in the Coupe de France, for as many defeats until then (1987, 1991, 2004 and 2022), Stade Brestois broke an Indian sign by managing to dominate, finally, FC Nantes in the oldest competitions. A success built before the break, thanks to the achievements of Abdallah Sima, author of a delight of oriented control (1-0, 24′), then of Brendan Chardonnet, already scorer against Nantes in the championship before the holidays and passer decisive on the first goal, following a corner taken by Romain Del Castillo (2-0, 34′).
An offside goal but no contest
If the Nantes residents may regret the absence of VAR on the opening score, marred by an offside by Sima, their defeat cannot suffer from any dispute, as they displayed crippling shortcomings. Conversely, and despite a relaxation sanctioned by the reduction of Guirassy’s score (2-1, 84′), the Brestois owe their success only to themselves.
Although deprived of numerous elements in the defensive sector (Coulibaly, Le Cardinal, Haïdara, Amavi and Locko), Éric Roy’s men even proved, if necessary, that they did not lack resources. Nor ambitions. By aligning players with limited playing time, including a very convincing Mathias Pereira Lage in the unusual position for him of left back, and by preserving two of his key elements from half-time (Magnetti and Camara), Éric Roy has, incidentally, perfectly managed his troops with his current forces. “There have been several changes, forced or not, but they have shown that when the coach calls on them, they respond. This bodes well,” Brendan Chardonnet did not fail to point out.
A Dantesque calendar
With this qualification for the round of 16, the 10th in the history of a club having never been further than the quarters (in 1983 and 2014), the Finistère team adds a date to its already very busy calendar (Rennes , Shakhtar Donetsk, Le Havre, Real then Paris in the next 15 days, before the next round, February 4 or 5) but is not moved by it. Far from it. “We knew that by winning, we would add a match, but we wanted it! We have the ambition to play on all three tables,” assures the Brest captain, one of the great architects of victory. Good news never comes alone, Pierre Lees-Melou, victim of a relapse on November 22 and absent since, played again for a few minutes at the end of the match. A good omen, again.
Morocco
