With only six days of Ligue 1 left to play, the hitch suffered by Racing Club de Lens this Saturday could be costly when it comes time to do the math… Still well on their way in the race for European places, the Northerners conceded a draw in Le Havre this Saturday at home (1-1). While they had done the hard part by opening the score, Franck Haise’s men have still not returned to victory, which has eluded them for three games.
The Sang et Or will especially regret not having taken cover earlier, as they got off to a good start in their match. In all the good shots, Elye Wahi notably made the Le Havre defense dizzy, obtaining two duels against goalkeeper Arthur Desmas (7th, 8th) in quick succession, before finding the bar on a magnificent acrobatic scissor (10th ). But the Northerners then decreased their intensity a little, letting their opponents breathe and even worrying Brice Samba on several occasions.
Returning from the locker room, however, Franck Haise’s men stepped on the accelerator and began, little by little, to gain physical ascendancy in midfield. Their domination was quickly illustrated in concrete terms: on a ball recovered very high, David Pereira Da Costa was able to serve Florian Sotoca, who did not fail to deceive Desmas (53rd)… But was ultimately flagged offside , after consultation with the VAR.
Frankowski a little lucky
The video refereeing only postponed the deadline: the opening goal finally came six minutes later, on a deceptive ball from Przemyslaw Frankowski (59th, 1-0) from 25 meters on the left. Difficult to estimate whether the Polish midfielder wanted to cross or shoot, but this time the goal could not be contested.
The Bollaert public then probably thought they were heading towards a quiet victory, ideal for putting themselves back in the race for the Champions League. But he was cooled by Emmanuel Sabbi, symbol of Norman combativeness, who obtained a penalty in a contentious aerial duel, before taking justice into his own hands (78th, 1-1). Le Havre then clung to this result until the end of the long added time, satisfied with this precious point in the race to maintain.
Currently 14th in Ligue 1, the HAC now has a two-point lead over the play-off team, Lorient, which however has a game in hand. For Lens, 5th, six points off the podium, the C1 seems to be irremediably moving away.
