“A football match lasts 90 minutes, not 45.” Ludovic Ajorque's statement at the end of the match may seem ordinary, it perfectly sums up the frustration born from Brest's performance. Overwhelmed in the first act, dominant in the second, Éric Roy's men displayed two diametrically opposed faces. “A half for each but at the finish, it was Nice who left with their three points,” regretted Éric Roy.
“We were non-existent in the first half”
Because Stade Brestois had a worrying match for most of the first half. Too often late to mark, leaving too large spaces on the wings, Éric Roy's men seemed to go against the grain in their pressing, which is nevertheless one of their strengths.
Visibly in difficulty against the usual 3-4-3 Nice proposed by Franck Haise and his two pistons, the Finistère team was overtaken as rarely like Cho's refused goal (36') then the opening score from Guessand (0-1.42') where the defense was too easily caught out with a cross from Abdi into the area.
“We were non-existent in the first half. We were absent on the first balls, on the second, in the duel, we were on nothing, supports Pierre Lees-Melou. It happens unfortunately, but I hope it happens to us as little as possible. The coach moved us well at half-time, and he had to do it. It's a shame that we had to take this blower rather than reacting ourselves on the ground. »
Because very annoyed by what his men proposed, Roy did not mince his words during the break. “I don’t know if we can call it a speech, but in any case, there was a real desire to make the players face their responsibilities too. Make them understand that if we lost this intensity that characterizes us, our values, we were going to become an average team again. »
A reassuring but insufficient start
Fortunately, after these 45 minutes to quickly forget, Brest raised their heads and even had the opportunities to come back into the score. But the Finistère surge, upon returning from the locker room, having numerous opportunities (11 shots to 1) with impressive possession (74%) and winning the majority of duels, was not enough to prevent the fifth setback of the season . Lacking efficiency, like the Brest sentry post (51'), Amavi's vicious shot from the right (55') or Camara's too quick volley (75'), the Brestois were missed the mark and ultimately only have themselves to blame. “The only good news from this match is that we were able to react. Having really fallen very low in the first period, we are capable of being again in high performance in the second, the Brest coach tried to assess. But afterwards, you also have to be able to make it happen. We didn't know how to do it. So at the end, we lost quite logically, because we only played one period out of two. This is a lesson for the future. » A relentless observation for a team which, if it shines in the European Cup, is still lacking in the championship where it is still looking for its reference match.
The technical sheet
Arbitrator : Clément Turpin.
Spectators : 14 534.
BUT. Nice: Guessand (42').
Warnings. Nice: Dante (74'), , Abdelmonem (84').
BREST. Bizot – Lala, Le Cardinal, Coulibaly, Amavi (Haïdara, 88') – Camara (Martin, 78'), Lees-Melou, Magnetti (cap.) (Doumbia, 68') – Del Castillo (Faivre, 78'), Ajorque, Baldé (Salah, 68'). Coach: Eric Roy.
Not entered into play: Coudert, Chardonnet, Fernandes, Pereira Lage.
NICE. Bulka – Abdelmonem, Bombito, Dante – Clauss (Mendy, 76'), Rosario, Ndayishimiye (Ndombélé, 76'), Abdi – Guessand (Moukoko, 90' + 1), Cho (Diop, 76'), Boga (Laborde, 61'). Coach: Franck Haise.
Not entered into play: Dupé, Louchet, Bard, Camara.
