A point-sharing that might leave some regrets, but if Modeste’s free-kick in the 89th minute had found anything other than Joris Delle’s crossbar, the regrets would likely have turned into despair. Sometimes, you have to be content with a point, and it’s in Reims that they will need to try to grab an extra one, or even better, who knows?
And it took no more than 2 minutes of play for the referee, Mr. Castro, to show his first ‘biscuit’ to Cahuzac, guilty of a tackle on Eysseric. After the stands, the repressive tone was set on the field as well! The Bastia players appeared lively at the start of the match with a prominent Rothen, while we had to wait until the 10th minute to see Bauthéac’s first attempt narrowly miss the Corsican goal. Long balls upfront by Bastia and not very successful counter attempts by the eagles summarize the first thirty minutes of the game, but almost.
It was at the half-hour mark that the breakthrough could finally come from Cvitanich, who didn’t let himself be fooled and sent a beautiful strike from 20 meters into the back of the net, with the help of islander goalkeeper Novaes, who was not entirely blameless on the play (1-0). A third goal in a few days for the Argentinean, confirming all the positive impressions about him, and an advantage not undeserved for his teammates. Approaching the end of the first half, it’s a final free-kick for Jérôme Rothen, the former Monaco player reminding Nice supporters of himself by sending a strike that left Delle with no chance (1-1). An equalizer that stings just seconds before Mr. Castro’s final whistle, which came as scheduled to send both teams to the locker room level.
This time it’s Digard tasting Mr. Castro’s yellow card in the very first minutes of play, while Meriem, a step below last night, gave way to Pied. A good move for Claude Puel as Jérémy Pied entered the game perfectly, quickly unsettling the Corsican defense. The same Digard could have even added an assist to his name if Cvitanich had followed through on an action where he thought he was offside, although the referees had not indicated anything. The Nice players played a little higher, but the Bastia defense kept a close eye on that intrinsic point on the scoreboard. As the hour mark approached, the second relief was on its way through Renato Civelli’s header, converting a good cross from a set-piece by Bauthéac (2-1). Le Ray could celebrate for the second time in the evening. Cvitanich thought he had done the hardest part by scoring the third goal shortly after the hour mark, but a well-signaled offside nullified his goal. What the entire stadium feared came to pass; for the second time that evening, Jérôme Rothen offered a perfect corner to his well-known teammate in Le Ray’s area, Anthony Modeste, who equalized with a header (2-2).
Bosetti and Bahoken replaced Cvitanich and Bauthéac for Nice, while Palmieri replaced Khazi for Bastia. The two young red and black substitutes didn’t take long to combine, with a good service from the ‘Old’ boy to Bahoken, who came close to deceiving Novaes. Yellow cards started to pour on the azure side with Palun and Bahoken being cautioned within two minutes. As mentioned earlier, a final free-kick from Modeste hit the bar, and one last chance for Traoré found by Pied saw his attempt shave Novaes’ crossbar… Mr. Castro could blow the whistle to end a match as prolific in goals as in warnings (5 yellow cards for Nice and 3 for Bastia).
And now, it’s Reims!
