Brest was eliminated this Friday in the 32nd finals of the Coupe de France on penalties by Avranches (N2). Angers were scared during the penalty shootout, but qualified. Lens was easy against Feignies-Aulnoye.
The magic of the Coupe de France. Outnumbered from the first period, Brest was knocked out of the Coupe de France in the 32nd final by the National 2 (D4) club of Avranches (1-1, 5-4 on the tabs), Friday.
Eighth in Group A of N2, the Norman club seriously upset the 11th in Ligue 1 from the start of the match with a daring play. As soon as the 10th minute, midfielder Nassim Sabihi found Grégoire Coudert’s right post.
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This first warning did not wake up Eric Roy’s men and Julien le Cardinal was sent off for a foul as the last defender eleven minutes later, leaving his team with ten men for almost 70 minutes. To make matters worse, on the free kick that followed, Jessy Pi — former Brest player for two seasons — served Sabihi at ground level at the entrance to the area and the latter’s wrapped shot found the Bretons’ net (1-0, 23rd).
No doubt dulled by the excess of energy, Avranches nevertheless took his foot off the gas. On a magnificent cross from the outside of the left from Romain Del Castillon, Rémy Labeau-Lascary produced a nice return to equalize (1-1, 34th). At the start of the second period, Avranches pushed hard with strikes from Pi (48th) and Anas Lamrabette (64th) who put Coudert to work, while Joris Chotard saw his attempt at the entrance to the area saved on the line by defender Emeric Dudouit (71st).
Arriving at the penalty shootout, Brest cracked by its official shooter, Del Castillo, whose full-center shot found the foot of Anthony Beuve. Behind, the Normans have succeeded in all their shots on goal and will therefore compete in the round of 16.
Lens dismisses Feignies-Aulnoye and slips into 16th
First in Ligue 1, Lens had no trouble getting rid of Feignies-Aulnoye (3-1), a National 2 club, on Friday evening in its Bollaert stadium, to reach the round of 16 of the Coupe de France.
The Sang et Or enforced the hierarchy against the northern team, born from the merger of Feignies and Aulnoye, which plays in the fourth level of French football. Goals from Rayan Fofana (17th), with a header, Saud Abdulhamid (45th+1), with a nice left-footed shot, and Andrija Bulatovic (68th), with an ideally struck free kick which did not find a taker, allowed the mining basin club to spend a relatively quiet evening. The Entente Feignies-Aulnoye, however, reduced the score thanks to Nolan Bonte (85th) taking advantage of a mix-up in the Lens defense.
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A week after ensuring that it finished the year at the top of Ligue 1, Racing continued its good momentum with a seventh success, and concluded a dream first part of the season. In a match played at home and sold out for the 76th time in a row, after an agreement with the Entente Feignies-Aulnoye to pay the proceeds to the amateur club, the Lensois played a serious match during which several players accustomed to supporting roles were able to shine.
In particular the right piston Saud Abdulhamid, usually replacing Ruben Aguilar, but promoted to the starting position for the occasion, who delivered a decisive pass for Fofana before doubling the score, in addition to having remarkable activity. In midfield, Andrija Bulatovic confirmed that he was the best option to compensate for the absence of Mamadou Sangaré, who left to compete in the African Cup of Nations (CAN) with Mali. The Montenegrin was very skillful in performing set pieces, one of the main strengths of Pierre Sage’s players.
At his side, Florian Sotoca, captain appointed by the coach at the start of the season, but little used, has found playing time in a position he is less familiar with. Successful management and objective achieved for Lens.
Angers are scared, but qualify
Angers left, before this 32nd final, favorite over its opponent a N2. But, this fourth division club is not just any club, Les Herbiers. And they gave the Angevins a hard time. Despite being reduced to ten shortly after the start of the second act (53rd), after a second yellow card from midfielder Benjamin Brélivet, the Vendéens managed to maintain the draw (0-0).
It was ultimately on penalties that everything was decided. The coin landed on the wrong side. Angers, 10th in Ligue 1 (22 points), managed to escape the trap (5-6, tab) and advance to the round of 16.
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All the results from this Friday:
Périgny (R1) 1 – 2 Le Mans (L2)
Canet Roussillon (N3) 0 – 1 Montpellier (L2)
Croix (N3) 0 – 4 Reims (L2)
Guingamp (L2) 0 – 1 Laval (L2)
The Herbaria (N2) 0 – 0 (5-6, t.a.b) Angers (L1)
Avranches (N2) 1 – 1 (5-4, t.a.b) Brest (L1)
Lens (L1) 3 – 1 Feignies-Aulnoye (N2)
