The Eaglets once again suffered a defeat away at Brest. Another poor performance considering the nature of the match. René Marsiglia’s players will now have a tough task in overcoming Montpellier on Saturday at Stade du Ray.
OGC Nice starts the league again on the same footing as 2011. Once again quickly falling behind, the Eaglets chased the score throughout the match and failed to capitalize on their many clear chances. Lille and Dijon proved favorable for Nice, but the strategy doesn’t always work. On the field of Stade Francis-Le-Blé, the desire and “grinta” shown in the Cup were not enough to overcome Brest. As soon as the sixth minute, Ben Basat already deceived Ospina with a low shot to the left post. Nice, as usual, didn’t give up and controlled the game with Anthony Mounier at the helm. By the 30th minute, the former Lyon player unleashed a splendid 25-meter shot that hit the crossbar. Two minutes later, he delivered a great pass to Guié Guié, who lost his duel against Elana. And when it wasn’t the crossbar, it was the right post that saved Stade Brestois after a very nice right-footed volley from Hellebuyck. Nice had opportunities, Nice played, but Nice didn’t score and lost another three very valuable points for survival.
Back in the Red Zone
The situation is all the more dire as most of the other clubs fighting for survival achieved good performances. Dijon easily defeated Evian Thonon-Gaillard (3-1), Nancy earned a good draw at the end of the match against Lorient (2-2), but especially Ajaccio won against Auxerre (2-1) and secured their third consecutive win. The Corsicans are coming back strongly and now have every chance to stay afloat. OGC Nice currently stands at the 18th position in the ranking… tied in points with Nancy (19th) and Ajaccio (20th)! Survival is going to be extremely difficult for the ten-or-so clubs that wish to remain in Ligue 1. Only four small points separate 12th-place Evian and the last place. Needless to say, points will be very costly to avoid Ligue 2!
