No winner in the match between the bottom-ranked teams, which ended in a draw, with the team from Nancy showing realism against the Nice team, who were certainly brave but still too disorganized. The first half favored the Eagles, and the second could have cost them dearly, making this result the “least bad” thing that could happen to the red and black who ultimately did not confirm their two consecutive victories.
And yet it seemed to start well with Nice applying strong pressure as they took on the Nancy defense, but neither Mounier nor Anin managed to deceive the vigilance of Ndy Assembé. However, the cold shower was quick to arrive through the tireless Puygrenier, who jumped higher than everyone and aimed at Ospina thanks to a cross from Mollo on a free kick at the edge of the penalty area. Against the run of play, Jean Fernandez’s men opened the scoring in a stunned Ray stadium. Undefeated in their last five matches (1 win and 4 draws), Nancy always bends to enterprising, yet ineffective Nice players. Digard made an effort with a free kick, and Dja Djé Djé went all out but to no avail, as halftime approached rapidly. Another free kick, this time executed by Mounier, needed two attempts to find Dja Djé Djé, alone in the box, who freed his team along with the jubilant crowd delighted to see their favorites heading to the locker room with this fair draw, even though Ospina had to deliver a masterful save in the final moments of play against a Karaboué attempt.
Then one might have thought that René Marsiglia’s team would return to the field with the firm intention of claiming the precious three points, but a completely different scenario played out with a more enterprising Nancy team that had less fear of losing compared to their host for the evening. The same 22 players returned to the field for the next 45 minutes. The game balanced out, and no one took the upper hand on play, leading to a rather dull start to the second half with few, if any, clear-cut chances. Marsiglia then sent Grandin in and placed the providential scorer Dja Djé Djé in. The new Nice player almost witnessed Nancy’s second goal seconds later with a stunning Mollo free kick that forced Ospina into an equally spectacular save, reaching for the ball in his top corner. The Nice team weakened, and the Ray supporters raised their voices to buoy their struggling favorites. Minutes ticked by, but neither team managed to construct their play, and it took Ospina’s goalpost to deny a golden opportunity for Bakar, who got little reward after eliminating three Nice players consecutively. Goncalves replaced a relatively invisible Guié Guié that night, and no one seemed willing to risk leaving the confrontation empty-handed. Goncalves and Niculae tested their respective opposing goalkeepers but to no avail, and it was ultimately on the same score as halftime that Mr. Lannoy sent both teams to their showers with a small point added to their tally.
Still settled at sixteenth and seventeenth in the standings, neither Nice nor Nancy managed to make headway in the rankings, with three points that would have allowed one of the teams to surpass Lorient, Caen, and Ajaccio, distancing themselves from the nearby relegation zone.
Next for the Eagles is a perilous away match at 5 p.m. next Sunday against the bottom-of-the-league Sochaux, who just nabbed a great victory at Evian (2-3) and would greatly benefit from a win against OGC Nice to inch closer with just one point between them and the Azuréens.
Indeed, one point is really all!
