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At the end of a match poor in chances, Ajaccio and Nice ended in a 0-0 draw this Sunday on the island ground. Dominated by the Niçois and unconvincing in attack, the Ajaccians once again return to the locker room with only a single point. The two teams rank 17th and 10th respectively in Ligue 1.
Dominating does not mean winning! And Claude Puel’s men proved this adage right by clearly weighing on the match without managing to find their way to the opponent’s goal. Yet, everything seemed to start well for the aiglons (young eagles) with Brüls scoring after just over 5 minutes of play, but his goal was rightly disallowed due to Cvitanich being offside.
And, it was the only clear chance from both sides in a first half that won’t be remembered in the club records. A notable satisfaction, however, was the third different defense tested in as many matches, which held its ground well. Gomis and Kolodziejczak in the center, assisted by Genevois and Amavi on the sides, easily contained the rare Corsican offensives. A goalless but above all meaningless score accurately depicted the nature of the first half of this match.
In the second half, the same scenario. Just around an hour into the game, Mendy took a chance by sending a superb strike towards Ochoa’s goal, but the Ajaccian goalkeeper could only parry it back towards Cvitanich, who, taken by surprise, couldn’t manage to finish it off. Then, it was Eysseric’s turn to try with a free-kick nearly 40 meters from the goal, but again, Ochoa punched it away. The minutes ticked by, and the pressure from OGC Nice remained, with Bauthéac recovering a ball heading out of play like a warrior to dribble and find Digard who, in turn, found Cvitanich, whose attempt was blocked by the Corsican defense.
One might think that the two teams could play for ten hours without overcoming the opponent’s defense. The end of the match remained just as devoid of opportunities, with a lackluster Mutu on the Ajaccio side, while the successive entries of Pied, Constant, and Traoré did not provide the solution expected by Claude Puel. Thus, with a goalless and uneventful scoreline, Mr. Duhamel sent the teams to the lockers for the last time.
OGC Nice at least found reassurance on the defensive side, but they will need to discover other offensive options by next Thursday against Limassol to overcome the two-goal deficit and score a third, synonymous with European qualification. Four days, therefore, to fine-tune this machine which will have to enchant Ray for the second-to-last time…
