By defeating Saint-Etienne 2 to 0 on Saturday, February 26th, at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, OGC Nice defied all predictions. And after the 25th day of Ligue 1, the Eagles are moving away from the relegation zone before entering a decisive March.
These Nice footballers are certainly not ordinary. We left them on the brink of the abyss following their home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain (0-3) the previous Sunday. And here they are, achieving a great performance against the Stéphanois who were, however, given as great favorites for this confrontation. Still, Nice has not lost in the Forez since the 2006-2007 season. And this time, they were able to show us all their realism by converting two of the only four goal opportunities they had throughout the match. Without truly dominating haggard Greens, we can still say that the result is far from being a “hold-up.”
Coulibaly’s magic trick
Moreover, the clearest opportunity of the first half belongs to David Bellion, who sends the ball crashing into the right post of Jérémy Janot’s goal, the Stephanois goalkeeper. Calm and well-positioned defensively, Eric Roy’s men then managed to weather the green storm of the first half to finally show themselves more dangerous in the second, especially on set pieces. And this sudden acceleration finally paid off when the Nice right-back, Kafoumba Coulibaly, misses his cross which turns into a shot in Janot’s left corner. “I really didn’t mean to. I wanted to cross hard to the near post,” he admitted at the end of the match. Nevertheless, this involuntary strike from the Ivorian international turned into a goal worthy of the top 5 at the end of the season.
Subsequently, the Greens experienced it somewhat like a calvary. Forced to bring in fresh offensive blood, Dimitri Payet’s teammates, who entered during the course of the game, made their three regulatory substitutions. The injury of central defender Sylvain Marchal forces the Forez formation to play ten against eleven during the last ten minutes. A numerical advantage that is enough for the Niçois to double the score through Anthony Mounier at the end of the match.
February saved, March complicated
In the end, OGC Nice leaves the Cauldron with the three points, and it’s Saint-Etienne who experienced the “green hell” during this 25th day of Ligue 1. Three precious points since at the same time, RC Lens lost in Rennes (0-2) and Monaco stumbles at home against Caen (2-2). In the standings, the Niçois are now fifteenth and have four points ahead (29 points) over their direct competitors who are virtually relegated. A good breath of fresh air before facing their French Cup quarter-final against Reims on March 1st, and the successive receptions of Lens and Auxerre (on March 5th and 12th, respectively), three decisive meetings for the future of the Eagles.
