The Racing Club de Lens Féminin took control of the Second League championship just before the international break. Before the resumption and the reception of Saint-Malo this Sunday, zoom on the goalkeeper Blandine Joly, who signed a much-awaited clean sheet during the last outing of the Lensoises, in the derby on the lawn of LOSC (0-3).
“Blandine has really reached a milestone”underlines coach Sarah M'Barek. Passed by Évian Thonon Gaillard and OM before joining Lens in July 2023, Blandine Joly “worked a lot on the mental level. She already had a mental trainer last year, but now, we actually have someone at the club who allows the girls to have access, almost daily, to tools, advice, things that give them a real advantage. Blandine really needed this. »
On the right track
Despite her experience in the French youth team and in the championship, the goalkeeper needs a healthy and encouraging environment to carry out her mission. “ I think she also needed to know that people trusted her. She was never put in doubt, but she did so herself. There, she had the matches to prove that she was on a good path. Today (Lille-Lens, October 20), I think that for her, it's a benchmark match: it's her clean sheet, with decisive saves, a victory away and against our rivals from the North. »
The player can now flourish in a group full of confidence, which has scored 18 goals in the last four games and which dominates its opponents. Sarah M’Barek continues: “They are radiant, they come to training, they are really happy to be together, to live together. It's the start of an adventure. We know that the season is long and that there will perhaps be difficult passages, but we will have to remember these good moments in order to be able to relive them. We feel that Blandine is living her matches to the fullest. What she lacked, perhaps, at a certain point, was to be focused and to have confidence in herself. There, she takes responsibilities, she is part of the relays, she assumes it, and that is new for her, I think. »
RC Lens (1st, 13 pts) – US Saint-Malo (6th, 8 pts): Sunday November 3, 1 p.m., at the Stade Léo Lagrange in Lens. 7th day of Second League.
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