A meeting rich in opportunities but poor in skill: this Saturday’s clash between Lens and Nice ended in a goalless draw at the Bollaert stadium, the Sang et Or (4e10 points) and the Gym (5e8 points) remaining at the gates of the podium.
A week after having scattered Saint-Étienne (8-0), the Niçois were much less incisive, with a team certainly reshuffled by Franck Haise to compensate for the absence of several injured people, three days after their draw against Real Sociedad (1-1) in the Europa League.
Haise in the spotlight in Bollaert
The OGCN coach was at the heart of this meeting that many considered the “Haisico”, between his current club and the one where he forged his reputation, taking Lens from Ligue 2 to the Champions League over the course of seven seasons including four and a half at the head of the first team, to the point of becoming its emblem. His name was accompanied by loud applause following the announcement of the Nice team ahead of the match, a sign that Bollaert preferred to remember his past exploits than his hasty departure at the end of last season.
On the pitch, his former club largely dominated the first period, and should have opened the scoring. But Will Still’s players have been suffering from the same problem for several weeks: inefficiency, which largely explains their series of four draws in Ligue 1.
Frustrating match
During the first act, the Artesian club had possession of the ball (65%) and hit three times more than their opponent (fifteen shots), only hitting four of their attempts. As soon as they injected speed into the game, the Artois players overtook the Niçois, in vain.
Constant problem for the Nice defense with his power and speed, Mbala Nzola found Marcin Bulka’s right post with a point-blank shot initially deflected by the Polish goalkeeper (10e). After that, Wesley Said (12e), Deiver Machado (22e), Nzola again (23e), Angelo Fulgini puis Przemyslaw Frankowski (26e) tried their luck, without further success, in a frustrating style exercise for the Lensois supporters, who were only expecting a goal during this afternoon bathed in a lovely October sun.
Nice almost hit the mark
On the contrary, it was even Nice who almost hit the mark first, but Lens goalkeeper Brice Samba managed a small miracle to deflect an attempt from Badredine Bouanani onto his left post (28e), completely forgotten by the defense. Lens slowed down in the last ten minutes of the first act. His chance had passed. The entry of captain Dante and Jonathan Clauss at the intermission did good for Nice, who tied the game in the second period. Both clubs had new opportunities to score, Lens through Rémy Labeau-Lascary just in front of the Nice cages (70e), Nice by Hicham Boudaoui, with a too axial strike (82e).
Nothing changed this match, nor the contact of Andy Diouf on Boudaoui, which the referee, François Letexier, decided not to sanction with a penalty (66e), nor the red card he inflicted on Anass Zaroury (84e) for a second yellow card received only 25 minutes after the Lens attacking midfielder came into play. Lens and Nice are content with a 0-0 at the end of the “Haisico”.
