the essential
Impressed but still lucid in the face of the Monegasque professionals, the USJCF amateurs delivered a large part in front of their delighted supporters, this Sunday, December 22. And this despite the defeat (4-1).
Magnificent! The players of L'Union Saint-Jean will be able to remember this Sunday, December 22, 2024 for a long time. Faced with the Monegasque ogre, they will have achieved – yes, let's not be afraid of words – a match of high quality, with the means which are theirs. Pumped up like never before by their public, who since Friday evening had given them an extra boost of soul at the end of a final surprise training session, the “red and black” of the USJFC delivered an impeccable match by playing well above their level. No, there were not 5 divisions apart this Sunday on the Stadium lawn, and at the end of the match Regional 1 sometimes panicked Ligue 1, with this superb goal from Benjamin Tournier being the key.
If the weather was more than gloomy outside, the temperature was boiling hot among the supporters of the USJFC, who conveyed in joy from their northeastern suburbs of Toulouse to the Stadium.
The goal of happiness
Each group took place throughout the circular enclosure, decorating the stands with the favorite colors of the club dear to presidents Sudriez and Nadalin. “Royalty, principality… The Union Saint-Jean in majesty”, could we read on the banner displayed under one of the two giant tifos unfurled at the time of kick-off. We were then approaching the promised 20,000 spectators, white-hot by the return of our friend Jacques Bréda, from whom we should never have been separated in these places.
Not decided to bow down against the AS Monaco professionals, the USJFC players will hold their own during the first twenty minutes. With an audience ready to burst into flames at the slightest half-chance from their protégés. No matter if Monaco opens the score, the princes of the Rock are unable to widen the gap (goal disallowed for offside, followed by a Monegasque post), which fuels the hope of an equalizer among the supporters . “To arms… to arms… we are the Unionists… and we will win. » But it was ASM who planted a second, before Mathias Capdeville missed reducing the score by just a fraction. No problem, the supporters still had something to scream with pleasure when, two minutes later, Fawzi Rabyi saved his first penalty with Embolo's boot. 15 minutes later, the USJCF goalkeeper captain did it again by lying down on Minamino's shot. New explosion of happiness among the supporters.
At the end of the match, while ASM brought the score to 3-0, Grégory Sorroche's players finally won the game by sending the ball into the back of the net, thanks to the perfect recovery from Benjamin Tournier, drunk with happiness at the moment to celebrate his goal in front of the stands.
Long after the final whistle, the fans, celebrated by a friendly guard of honor from the Monegasques, will remain on this pitch of the Stadium on which they so dreamed of expressing themselves. They will have done it, beautifully and with panache.
