capitalize and retain the lessons of this adventure in the Coupe de France

If the Joséphins set foot on the lawn of the Armand-Cesari stadium with ambition yesterday (Friday December 20), from the first minutes, they ran after the ball and very quickly, Emmanuel Vermignon, the Joséphin goalkeeper, was called into action.

On the 1^is corner, at 5^e minute, the Josephine defense clears and on the counter, Emmanuel Elismar attempts a lob around 35 meters, the ball passes slightly above Fabri's crossbar, the gesture is beautiful but unfortunately.

If Vermignon delayed the deadline, in the 23rd minute, Lisandru Tramoni found the net, followed by Clément Rodrigues, 24^e minute. The Bastiais, serious and diligent, actually folded this 32^e of the French Cup final in 7 minutes with the 3^e goal scored by Dominique Guidi in the 30th^e minute. 3 to 0 and, even if the locals slowed down slightly, the rare Josephine offensives came up against a vigilant defense.

Amine Boutrah brings the score to 4-0 just before returning to the locker room.

In the second half, SC Bastia continued its domination without really accelerating. The men in blue made the Joséphins run the ball and run a lot. On a quick counter on the left side, Boutrah serves Felix Tomi who deceives Vermignon, 5 to 0.

The Joséphins had dreamed of achieving an exploit but came up against better people than them. If faces were closed at the final whistle, after the guard of honor made by those who reached the round of 16 of the event, the words of the Bastia players and managers comforted the Racing Club players.

One explanation came up again and again, the splits were too big, the lessons of this experience will have to be retained to improve.

We knew there were 4-5 levels of difference, we saw it, there are 5-0. I think the difference was in the intensity, after the first 20 minutes, we thought we had done the hard part with the start of the match. From the 23rd, they scored the first goal then a second just behind. No time to breathe, we conceded a third goal, it was getting complicated and just before half-time, we took this 4th goal. We came back with twice as much attention in the second half and lost 1-0 in the second half. It was a magnificent course. Yes, it was great, it's the first time the club has reached this stage of the competition. I congratulate the group, we have to stay positive because I think it was a great experience which should make us stronger for the future.

Florian Goma, captain of RC Saint-Joseph

Corsican leaders seemed surprised by the organization of RC Saint-Joseph. A “small club” with a good structure, the exchanges were interesting at the end of the match. Johny Placide, the starting Haitian goalkeeper for SC Bastia in the championship, came to meet the players with greater attention to goalkeepers. Drawing the positive from this Coupe de France adventure is the key word of the evening and avoiding regrets.

We're going to remember the positive and take everything we have from this experience and then we're going to get back to work. There is the championship, there is the Cup but frankly, we had fun despite everything. It was beautiful to see, beautiful to play too. At the end, there was this exchange in their locker room, an opportunity for us to see how it is arranged, how the group works and how it lives. It's all part of the experience gained.

Jérémy Norbert, defender of RC Saint-Joseph

After this Corsican journey, the RC Saint-Joseph delegation returns to Martinique on Sunday December 22. After a rest period which coincides with the truce – which should be beneficial – the RC will resume the course of its season with in particular 3 late R1 matches to play.