The Breton club qualified without trembling for the semi-finals by dominating the Nationale 2 team (1-3).
Rennes joins Lyon and Valenciennes in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France, while awaiting the final quarter between PSG and Nice which will be held on March 13. Faced with the amateurs from Le Puy, who play in National 2, the Bretons will not have been resplendent, having had six victories in Ligue 1 before conceding a draw last weekend at the Parc des Princes (1-1), without forgetting their prestigious success over AC Milan in the Europa League (3-2). But they will have done the job, as the expression goes, to impose themselves (1-3) and have their status respected.
Paradoxically, the match couldn’t have gotten worse, but also couldn’t have gotten off to a better start for the Ligue 1 resident. Indeed, if the Auvergne players showed a lot of enthusiasm and energy in the first minutes, upsetting their prestigious one-night visitors at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium in Saint-Étienne, Stade Rennais calmed everyone down after just nine minutes of play. On their first opportunity. After excellent solo work, Amine Gouiri forced the opposing goalkeeper, Matis Carvalho, into a nice tap. But on the corner that followed, Benjamin Bourigeaud found the head of Arthur Theate thrown full ball to open the scoring (0-1, 9th).
Armed with this precious advantage, Rennes would then manage the situation, year in and year out, even if Le Puy offered itself some possibilities of getting back on track. Like in the 26th minute when Gauthier Gallon, the Rennes goalkeeper in place of Steve Mandanda, on the bench in the Coupe de France, diverted a shot from the very restless Jules Meyer. Or even more so ten minutes later, when Mehdi Beneddine’s thunderous volley failed to hit the target. At the break, Rennes were leading, in control overall but were by no means safe. To get going, Julien Stéphan’s men awarded themselves a penalty, which the specialist Bourigeaud transformed with an unstoppable shot under the bar (0-2, 48th).
Bryan Adinany reignites the suspense but…
It was then possible to believe the match was over. Which was the case for a good ten minutes for a stunned Le Puy team. But valiant and resilient. Thus, in a magnificent collective movement, Bryan Adinany, magnificently served by the inevitable Jules Meyer, poked his ball to play off Gallon’s exit (1-2, 62nd). The suspense was reignited… a full quarter of an hour. Moment chosen by Bourigeaud to request a one-two with Arnaud Kalimuendo, who entered shortly before, before leaving no chance to the last Auvergne rampart (1-3, 82nd). This time, the fans bowed. With honors and the feeling of duty accomplished.
