This Sunday, ASSE hosted FC Nantes for the first match of the return phase. Like every week, the Peuple Vert editorial team has established the tops and flops of this meeting.
Honorably beaten (2-1) last weekend at the Parc des Princes, the Greens wanted to strike hard against rivals from Nantes in the fight for survival. And Horneland's men start with the ball.
A first closed period
The Stéphanois have the ball, but are struggling to make good use of it. Mathis Abline, Nantes striker, hurts the Saint-Etienne defense. And with a big mistake, Nantes opened the scoring. Appiah is countered by Simon who goes to goal. 1-0 for the Canaries on their first opportunity of the match. The Greens will have possession during the rest of the first period, in vain.
A second reaction
Barely back from the locker room, the Greens put the pressure on. Fomba does a huge job in the middle and perfectly serves Nguessan who appears alone against Anthony Lopes, but it just misses. At the hour mark Horneland reacts and makes numerous changes with Boakye, Tardieu, Amougou.
Boakye is having an excellent comeback. And is rewarded at the end of the meeting. The Ghanaian sends a missile at 30 meters which ends up in the back of the net. 1-1 with five minutes to go. The score will not move again despite a last scare well managed by Larsonneur at the end of the match.
The tops of ASSE
The entrants
There are 5 to have returned: Amougou, Tardieu, Miladinovic, Cornud and Boakye. Everyone will have brought new blood and transformed ASSE in the second half. More offensive and more conquering in the duels, the substitutes will have largely contributed to the draw obtained at the end of the match.
-Augustine Boakye
It is largely thanks to him that the Greens obtained a point this Sunday afternoon. Author of a superb strike, the Saint-Etienne striker, who came on during the game, scored his third goal of the season. And all 3 have been registered since the arrival of Eirik Horneland!
ASSE’s flops
Set pieces
The Greens will have obtained 7 corners, against Nantes, this Sunday. But none created any danger in the opposing defense. We will have to rectify the situation and quickly, because set pieces are far from being an area to be neglected.
A lack of accuracy in the last meters
Saint-Étienne lacked accuracy and lucidity to bring danger in front of the Nantes goal and try to snatch the three points of victory. The passes are sometimes poorly given and at the wrong time, so it was without difficulty that the Nantes residents recovered the balls. At Auxerre next Friday, we will have to do much better in the opposing final meters.
Dennis Appiah
He was reunited with his old club this weekend. Dennis Appiah aligned on the right side of the green defense, had a hard time facing Moses Simon. And he was unfortunately at fault in Nantes' opening score. Blocked in his header clearance, he allowed Simon to launch his own. Fortunately, the Greens were able to come back to snatch a point!
Quentin Verchere
