Laurent Mortel: “A match to move forward”

We had a relatively successful first half with a respected organization and a team that wanted to project itself. We were in little danger in the first half and we scored at the right time, just before the break, with a high recovery on our part. I had prepared a speech for the break saying that we were not close enough, not compact enough offensively to go further in the problems we posed to them, and finally, we scored this goal which changes the situation a little. . Then, there are around ten minutes where Reims plays much higher because, ultimately, in the first period, the team was organized with a relatively low block and difficult to maneuver. They’re a good team, they don’t concede many goals. From the moment they are leading and they discover themselves a little more, it allows us to exploit the depth that we did not have in the first half and to score this second goal. Obtaining the qualification is important. It’s been a while since we scored, we scored and we didn’t concede a goal. This is what we must remember in relation to a team which was looking for itself a little and which needed a match like this to move forward.

It was a fitting match because it was a match against a D1, away, against a team which had achieved the feat of the previous round by eliminating Olympique Lyonnais. For us, it perhaps allowed us, with this match and that of Nantes next week, to be in two matches in D1 mode. We’re going to use it. Now we have to be consistent and efficient next weekend.

We do not control the draw (of the quarters). What I have mastered is preparing for my match as we did today with a block in place, with players who sought to project themselves and defend collectively, even if there were moments difficult. The print doesn’t belong to me, we’ll wait for it. It’s above all about extracting what was good in this match to immediately prepare for the match against Nantes which is also an important match in the quest to maintain. At the moment there is a points gap with the teams below us; we must succeed in maintaining it. This could involve a performance against Nantes. Both teams need points, we’ll see how things work out.