OGC Nice will be kicking themselves. Claude Puel’s men were ahead 1-0, then 2-1 in extra time, before being eliminated in the penalty shootout. Alexandre Mendy, as he did in Caen, scored a double. It was not enough. They will have to digest this elimination by Friday with the reception of Montpellier for the last game of the year 2015.
There are some difficult returns. The return from Brittany will be one of them. The Nice team gave their all for 120 minutes only to end up losing in the penalty shootout lottery. As a testament to the confidence and good start to the season of his protรฉgรฉ, Claude Puel named Hatem Ben Arfa as captain of the Gym. Mathieu Bodmer, the usual captain, took a place on the bench.
As usual, the Gym takes control of the ball from the first minutes of play. The Bretons, on the other hand, opted for a counter-attacking tactic with a well-organized block. Although Claude Puel’s men had the upper hand in the game, it was Guingamp who were dangerous from set pieces several times (6th and 21st minutes). Two players were in form in the first half: Alexandre Mendy, who is making great progress, and especially Hatem Ben Arfa, who was very active and delighted in the Guingamp defense, forcing Lรถssl to make a save (33rd minute).
Alexandre Mendy delivers for the Eagles
Seconds before halftime, Alexandre Mendy opened the scoring after a dazzling performance by Hatem Ben Arfa on his flank (0-1, 44th minute). The striker, a specialist in the Coupe de la Ligue (2 matches, 3 goals including a double in Caen in the previous round), needed two attempts to beat the Breton goalkeeper and allowed his team to enter the dressing room in the lead.
Hassen shines on his line
Right after the restart, Guingamp showed a different side. The home team earned a corner deflected by the Nice defense, then Giresse forced Mouez Hassen into a great save after a shot from the penalty spot area (48th and 49th minutes). Ben Arfa was not far from giving his team a two-goal lead, but his free kick was off-target and his run yielded nothing (54th and 56th minutes). Dominant throughout the match, Hassen was decisive on a header from Diallo.
And then Le Marchand’s hand in the box…
Often inconsistent, OGC Nice started to retreat, giving Guingamp hope. Angoua and Sankharรฉ came close to equalizing with headers, but they went over (78th and 79th minutes). Five minutes from the end, Nice could kick themselves once more, with a 20-meter shot from Paulin Puel hitting the crossbar. In the final moments of the match, Mr. Fautrel signaled a penalty for a handball in the area by Maxime Le Marchand, the same scenario as in Reims on Saturday. Mouez Hassen saved the penalty, but Yannis Salibur followed up (1-1, 87th minute). Cruel.
Mendy strikes again!
Despite the blow to the head, the Nice team went forward again. Vincent Koziello found Alexandre Mendy, who fought hard and restored the lead for the Azurรฉens (1-2, 93rd minute). Fourth goal for the Gym’s big number 15! But in the 110th minute, Yannis Salibur won a free kick from 25 meters. The deflected ball fooled Mouez Hassen. Everything had to be redone for the Nice team, who had dominated from the very first moment of extra time. Nothing happened until the 120th minute, signaling the end of extra time.
The lottery favors Guingamp
Therefore, it was the penalty shootout that decided the place in the quarter-finals. Everyone succeeded with their penalties before each side missed one, Sankharรฉ for Guingamp and Pied for Nice. The Nice team even had a match point after Lรถssl’s miss, but 18-year-old Olivier Boscagli did not convert his penalty. A debatable choice. Ultimately, Maxime Le Marchand sent the 7th penalty onto the crossbar. The journey in the Coupe de la Ligue ends here.
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