Opposed to Juventus this Tuesday, in the Youth League, the youth of LOSC pocketed a valuable draw (0-0) in numerical inferiority. At the final whistle, Stéphane Pichot congratulated his men and conceded that the red was logical.
What do you feel after this meeting?
Considering the appearance and the context, this is a good result. We played a ten for more than half time. It was tough, the boys held on. We tried not to back down too much, even if we suffered in certain situations. Despite that, we managed to get a few balls out and play our game despite the inferiority and we had a few opportunities. We fought until the end. It's a source of pride to have drawn this evening, to not have conceded a goal while being shorthanded knowing that we had a very young team with many 2007s and two 2008s. It's also a source of pride for us , as a trainer, for having fought in this match.
What was the message at halftime? We expected to see a one-sided second period.
We told them that even with ten, there was still everything to do and that numerical inferiority could not be counted in our defense. We always have players in front of us, which means we have fewer behind us. As long as we were still defending while advancing, we could still say to ourselves that we had superiority. It's just to play the game that you have to be more mobile, be able to move more, and then have the audacity to attack. That's mostly it and they did it well. It’s also a source of pride.
Do you find the red card a bit exaggerated?
It is deserved and we do not have the excuse of youth because it is a 2005, Kemryk (Nagera) who takes this red card. It was our captain who reacted to an extension. Even if it's not much, he made the move unfortunately. He must manage to contain himself. The frustrating thing is that he usually manages to do it. There, he makes the small gesture and even without power… It is the fourth referee who signals the fault. It makes sense to me, even though there have been things going the other way. It could have been a bit more successful. He didn't do it, but we have to learn that too. This is also what the Youth League is for, a competition in which there is more pressure and confrontations. You have to learn quickly.
What do you think of your collective, that on the pitch, but also in the stands with the encouragement of a fan club of some of your reserve players?
It's nice to see that, because everyone is behind the team. Those who play, who are substitutes, who do not play, those who are not the group or who train with the players on the field. There were players from the Pro 2 group and the Avenir group who were there. We are very happy for Samy (Merzouk), but he did like the whole team. He gave that little extra that was needed compared to usual. He made important stops to improve everyone's work.
You are undefeated after four matches, did you think you could be there at the start of the competition?
Quite honestly, we were heading off into the unknown a bit against big cars, big clubs. We didn't think we would be undefeated, but it's also a kind of pride. This means that we are hard to beat and, despite everything, we have a little regret over certain points lost along the way. Not tonight, but against Atlético de Madrid or Sporting. There were ways to do things. We will now think about the championship and look forward to the upcoming matches in the Youth League. We have six points and we will try to be undefeated throughout the match.
