SM Caen hosts Stade Lavallois this Friday, May 3 at 8 p.m. Here are three good reasons to follow the meeting.
A reunion synonymous with revenge
Remember, it was September 2nd. Jean-Marc Furlan’s SM Caen traveled to Laval with the status of leader of Ligue 2, thanks to its perfect start to the season (4 wins in 4 matches, 9 goals scored, 0 conceded). After 77 minutes of a poor show on the Caen side, Ali Abdi came to stick a free kick under the Samassa bar. We said to ourselves that nothing could happen to Malherbe in this season where everything seemed to be smiling on him.
Except that in the space of three minutes, between the 92e and the 95e, the Tango had turned the match around, thanks to a free kick from Vargas deflected by Abdi’s head then a penalty from Tchokounté conceded by Ntim (2-1). Two twists of fate. “We played against a team grouped behind in the first half, who showed that they were capable of playing in the second. It’s not the football I enjoy the most, but today they won. We’ve been coming here for 15 years, it’s been the same thing for 15 years, difficult matches. Our meeting remains more encouraging than theirs. We played, we tried things. They, much less. But that’s how it is, that’s football. In today’s football, it pays,” cursed Mathias Autret at the end of the match.
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“I felt that it pissed everyone off to have conceded these two improbable goals. We were five minutes away from making it five out of five without conceding a goal. We were so keen to push the series as far as possible that we took a massive blow. But I didn’t think I would experience everything we experienced afterwards, that it was going to be such a hassle.” Romain Thomas remembers today. The summer hit had therefore faded into Mayenne soil and the fall refrain was much less catchy. Ten matches without a win followed one after the other following this first defeat of the season. They led to the dismissal of Jean-Marc Furlan and the appointment of Nicolas Seube, on the Caen bench, on November 29.
“Laval put our heads in the water, so there is a little revenge to take,” launched Romain Thomas before the reunion planned for this Friday evening.
A life and death match for the top 5
More than a revenge, this SM Caen – Laval is above all a crucial match in the fight for the top 5. Before this antepenultimate day of Ligue 2, Malherbe is eighth, four points behind fifth (Paris FC), and Laval is sixth, one point ahead of the Caennais. Woe to the loser, who could find themselves definitively lost depending on the results of the PFC in Auxerre this Saturday (3 p.m.) and Rodez against Annecy this Friday evening (8 p.m.).
“Will it be Victory or vacation? I don’t like this last term because we will always have a duty to succeed and the obligation to fully commit to our tasks. The results will determine whether we are in the race or not but there will remain these data of pride, representation of the club and image which are ultra-important in my eyes. I prefer to say result or objective not achieved this Friday”, whispered Nicolas Seube, the Normandy coach, in a pre-match press conference.
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“The coach had warned that it would take at least 60 points to finish in the top 5. We still have a chance of reaching them, but we no longer have time to think about it. Victory is imperative against Laval, added Romain Thomas, his captain. We are going to play a team that, like us, wants to stay alive. A draw won’t help anyone. The two teams will inevitably want to compete at some point to get the three points. »
This is a great promise of a show!
Alexandre Mendy must find the net again at d’Ornano
When your striker is at the top of the scorers’ table and has 20 goals after 35 days, it’s difficult to beat him. But it’s a fact: Alexandre Mendy has not scored at d’Ornano for five games (he scored against Amiens on February 10, 2-0). A rarity since his arrival in Normandy, since we have to go back to the fall of 2020 to find traces of such a series, which necessarily handicaps Malherbe in the race for the top 5.
Because the relays continue to be lacking behind the Guinea-Bissau striker, the latter must find the net in front of his audience. This will involve his ability to get rid of the Laval defense, known to be compact and catchy. “Sometimes the opponents even do two or three takes on him, notes Romain Thomas. I don’t think he plays any differently, but he’s highly guarded. When we face Caen, even more so against d’Ornano, we say to ourselves that the number 1 asset is him. »
This will also depend on the ability of his teammates to find him at the right time and not constantly looking for him. “I find that we are too focused on Alex while the defenses are very focused on him, says Nicolas Seube, his coach, who will be deprived of Mathias Autret (adductors) and Brahim Traoré (suspended). Having debriefed with the players after Saint-Étienne, it becomes mechanical to look for him, while there were situations where others were better positioned than him. He stares at so many people that he frees up space. »
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Nominated for the UNFP Trophies in the “best player of the Ligue 2 season” category, “the tree” could live out its last matches at Ornano. Might as well make his supporters sing “Mendy’s on fire” for as long as possible.
