A happy outcome that puts an end to a particularly exhausting season. A…
A happy outcome that puts an end to a particularly exhausting season. An ordeal which until last Sunday and the victory of hope against Guingamp (2-0) looked like a way of the cross.
Administrative relegation canceled on appeal, incessant turnover of players, results at half mast, harsh criticism from agents and players on social networks… The ASJ Soyaux season was strewn with pitfalls. So much so that the mysterious sick leave of coach Dragan Cvetkovic, who disappeared from the radar for many months and was replaced by his assistant Samuel Fau, may seem like a simple incident.
In this context, the unflattering record (five wins, one draw, 16 losses) of this galley season goes into the background. And we must salute the courage of Siga Tandia and her teammates who, against all odds, held the helm of a ship that took on water from all sides. The D1 Arkema is so made that we can save ourselves with 16 points in 22 days, taking more than a third of its points during the last two days. Soyaux was able to turn his back and woke up when necessary, in the final sprint.
This Wednesday, the Sojaldiciennes however started the match timidly, visibly caught up in the issue. It only takes two minutes for Chaumette, covered by a poor defensive alignment, to find herself in a goal situation, but the green forward finds the side netting. Siga Tandia’s teammates are timorous and rarely leave their camp, facing Stéphanoises all but demobilized, and who continue to approach the goals of Munich.
Avital releases ASJ
It must be said that the information is flowing and that at half an hour of play, the Lyon opener against Issy virtually maintains the Charentaises thanks to their draw. But the latter will do better than resist the sterile domination of Foréz: on a risky raise, Avital converts the only chance of his team in the first half and consolidates the maintenance more than ever (41).
The Stéphanoises do not abdicate. Coming at half-time, the very restless Gago sends shivers through the Soyldic vanguard, especially on a strike in front of goal that Carchio is very close to taking back (62). But past the storm, comes the liberation: in the minute that follows, Avital, again, served at the entrance to the surface, sends a half-volley into the side netting of Burns (63).
Les Bleues et Blanches manage their end of the match perfectly. They will even take shelter permanently thanks to Leger, who tries twice to deceive Burns and make the party even more beautiful (85).
Now the ball is in the court of President Benoit Letapissier who will have to set up a budget solid enough to convince the DNCG, the financial policeman of French football, and, above all, to offer his heroes a better framework for a more serene season.
Fau: “It’s a relief”
Samuel Fau, coach of Soyaux. “Saturday, we could have been in D2 if Issy had won. But we did the job against Guingamp, playing a better match than the one against Saint-Etienne. I had asked my players to be cold with realism, facing a team that we had observed, which has a certain offensive drive and which plays the ball well. You had to be efficient, that’s the high level. We struggled in the first half, we had no possession time. We had to tighten the lines, and it was better in the second half. It’s a satisfaction, but also a relief, because everyone had already buried us. We have made a lot of sacrifices this season, now we will have to prepare for the next one seriously. It is also the victory of Dragan (Cvenkovic), convalescing for several weeks, and who has been well supplemented. »
