Claude Puel feared a certain complacency, but it was ultimately a definite insufficiency that the Eagles showed against an Apollon Limassol team that was not particularly transcendent. There is still hope for the return match, but they will need to show another face, and perhaps another team composition, to hope to turn things around.
Cvitanich and Bauthรฉac on the bench, the first half was not the most exciting with, at the start of the game, an early chance for Sangoy who narrowly missed the target guarded by Ospina. The game was scrappy and Nice’s fouls were numerous, so much so that after 20 minutes, Kรฉvin Gomis received the first card. Traorรฉ tried his luck with a strike, but Bruno Vale, the Cypriot guardian angel, was on the trajectory. It was, however, Constant who could have executed a real heist at the end of the first half following a free kick by Eysseric, but both teams eventually went to the locker rooms with a goalless scoreline.
Claude Puel’s halftime talk seemed to give the Eagles a slight boost, and the duo of former Lyon players, Kolodziejczak and Pied, were very close to opening the score following a good cross from the first and a header from the second that only found the woodwork of Bruno Vale’s goal. Tensions rose, and a scuffle erupted, resulting in two more warnings for Constant from Nice and Merkis from Cyprus. Eysseric’s shot on the free kick was on target, but the Cypriot goalkeeper punched it away. As the hour mark approached, it seemed that maybe a draw wasn’t a bad result before the return leg in Nice. But, that was without counting on the local top scorer, Gaston Sangoy, who, with a free kick and a deceptive bounce, opened the score to the delight of the 10,000 spectators present (1-0). Paradoxically, Nice conceded the goal just as they were finally looking somewhat dangerous. Puel then went into coaching mode, Bauthรฉac replaced Pied, and Genevois gave way to Cvitanich. Unfortunately, the injection of fresh blood didn’t have the intended effect, and instead, it was that devil Sangoy who doubled the score by picking up a low cross at the penalty spot, leaving Ospina powerless to do anything (2-0). An ideal scenario for Limassol.
Cvitanich tried to put pressure on the local defense, but his first attempt only found the side netting of Bruno Vale’s goal, while his second attempt resulted in a goal correctly disallowed for offside. The last change, ten minutes from the end, saw Bosetti replace Eysseric. Clumsily, the Eagles tried to score that little goal that would make all the difference, but Cvitanich, who was asking for a penalty following a foul by Vasiliou, only received a yellow card. The minutes ticked by, and although Digard could have reduced the score with a good service from Bauthรฉac, it was Gullon from the Cyprus side who almost extended the lead in the final minutes of stoppage time.
Therefore, with a two-goal deficit, Nice will have to contend next Thursday in their Stade du Ray lair. But, to at least hope to match the Limassol players, they will need to show a completely different desire against Cypriots who have never been so close to qualifying for the Europa League group stage.
The learning curve was steep for the Eagles, but hope remains for a team that demonstrated last year the necessary resources to overturn this type of situation. As long as the right people are in the right place…
Photo Credit: www.ogcnice.com
