On the occasion of the 35th day of Ligue 1, OGCN traveled to Strasbourg. A match to confirm the certainties gained over the past two weeks.
Except that the match quickly turned in favor of the locals. Caught off guard, the team conceded a goal in the first minute of play by Habib Diallo, well set up by Ibrahima Sissoko.
Just two minutes later, Gaëtan Laborde tried his luck but was met by the Strasbourg defense. The Alsatians applied pressure, but Nice dominated the midfield despite the absence of Aaron Ramsey, creating a new opportunity with Terem Moffi shooting a ground ball that grazed the right post of Matz Sels.
Struggling to make the final pass, the men of Didier Digard couldn’t find a solution against the Alsatian defense. And things went from bad to worse as in the 39th minute Khephren Thuram stayed down. The French international midfielder injured his right thigh in yet another interception attempt and had to leave his teammates just before the break.
Sterile Domination
Upon returning from the locker room, Badredine Bouanani tried his luck with a shot that wasn’t powerful enough from outside the box. Nice maintained possession of the ball but exposed themselves to more incisive attacks. This was illustrated when Jean-Ricner Bellegarde was brought down inside the penalty area by Jordan Lotomba. Referee Jérémy Stinat whistled for a penalty. That was all Habib Diallo needed to double the lead (2-0 in the 60th minute).
The Aiglons’ coach took a gamble by emptying much of his bench. The expected reaction did not come. The only real chance for the red and blacks came from the captain. Dante jumped with excellent timing to head a corner, forcing the opposing goalkeeper to stretch his abilities.
The match concluded there. The Niçois lost three precious points to Strasbourg in the fight for survival. The next match is on May 21 at 3 p.m. against Toulouse, who won the French Cup three weeks earlier.
