The Nice team triumphed 3-2 in Toulouse thanks to a double from Bauthéac and a goal from Maupay. In the final standings, the Aiglons finished in 11th place, achieving their objective. See you on August 9th for the start of the 2015-2016 season.
There you have it, it’s over. They wanted it, they motivated themselves for it, and they did it. Nice ends the season with two consecutive wins against Lens (2-1) and Toulouse. Despite major scares in April and at the start of May, it is a rather successful season with an 11th-place finish, even when the management had set the 12th place as the goal. A goal from Digard last week, two from Bauthéac this Saturday evening, fate is kind to two Aiglons who are likely leaving the club.
It’s a one-sided first half in favor of the Nice team who started the match in the best possible way. As early as the 8th minute, Neal Maupay, despite lacking playing time, opened the scoring. The young Azurean striker took advantage of a cross from Alassane Plea, deflected by Carlos Eduardo, and had only to push the ball into the back of the net (0-1, 8th). The Toulouse attack, performing well in recent times, struggled thanks to the well-placed Nice defense. Bodmer and Boscagli had to make returns to thwart TFC’s offensive efforts (22nd and 28th).
Claude Puel’s men secured their lead a little after the half-hour mark. On a lightning-fast counterattack, Carlos Eduardo sent a deep pass to Éric Bauthéac, who paused before deceiving Ahamada with a subtle lob (0-2, 34th). Just before halftime, Trejo collapsed in the penalty area after contact with Koziello, but the referee did not award a penalty. As proof of Nice’s domination, Toulouse did not have a single shot in the first 45 minutes.
The red and black team started the second half as they had begun the match, full throttle. They were rewarded with a third beautiful goal. From a wide free-kick on the right, Bauthéac attempted his “special” curling shot to the far post and managed to lob the Toulouse goalkeeper. Right after, Ben Yedder twice tried to get his team back on track, but Mouez Hassen intervened (55th and 56th). At the hour mark, Lloyd Palun missed the 4-0 opportunity. Carlos Eduardo took a chance from afar, the deflected ball landed at the feet of the Gabonese defender, but his shot went just wide (62nd).
Nice played quickly forward and outpaced the inert Toulouse players. Their first big chance came at the end of the match when Trejo shot over the bar after good work by Bodiger (78th). On the following action, Ben Yedder awakened the Stadium. Mouez Hassen and Didier Digard miscommunicated, and the French international took advantage to score his 14th goal of the season (1-3, 80th). Nice cracked a second time. This time, the Nice defense was at fault. Oscar Trejo, after slaloming nearly 30 meters through the center, eliminated Digard and then Hassen before scoring (2-3, 82nd). Hassen saved his team when in the 88th minute he caught a difficult cross from Regattin. Regattin then battled in the Nice penalty area during additional time, centered deeply, but Ben Yedder and Akpa-Akpro were too short.
“We finished 11th, a place in line with the club’s budget. So, it’s a decent season despite everything that was said about us. It’s frustrating to have lost so many points at home, as it’s usually the club’s trademark to be good at home. I hope we’ll learn from these lessons. In the past, we were also less good away, so we’ll need to find a mix of both,” explained Didier Digard on BeInSports.
Nice clinched the win after overwhelming the match for 70 minutes. With an average age of 22 and six players under 20 on the match sheet (Boscagli, Albert, Koziello, Maupay, Honorat, and Paulin Puel), OGC Nice can look to the future with optimism. Whether or not this future includes Claude Puel will be decided in the coming days.
More info on www.ogcnice.com
