How could one dream of a better start to the season with an away victory, especially in the den of Saint-Étienne players who were determined to start the championship better than last year? Well, the dream became reality this Saturday for OGC Nice, who managed to win on Saint-Étienne soil thanks to goals from Traoré and Rémy, crushing the green’s hopes at the end of each half. Admittedly, the first half wasn’t in favor of Nice, who however handled the situation well by taking advantage of counterattack opportunities as they arose. After the first quarter of an hour passed, the Saint-Étienne players showed their first sign of danger with a cross from Varrault deflected onto the post by Paisley. A give and get as it was the Nice players who hit the post of the goals guarded by Janot following a corner.
The game heated up and it was the ‘eagles’ who created a beautiful opportunity with a combination between Rémy and Ben Saada, but the Senegalese Bayal Sall brilliantly intercepted. At the 39th minute, a first attempt by Ben Saada was pushed away by the Saint-Étienne goalkeeper but it was without counting on Traoré who sent the ball flying with a clear strike into the goals of Janot. OGC Nice had done the hardest part by scoring just before the break and Olivier Thual, the referee for the evening, sent both teams back to the locker rooms.
The second half started under the same conditions as the first with the greens throwing everything they had to get back into the game, but the Saint-Étienne offensive line was too messy approaching Ospina’s goals. Payet and Varrault also tried to beat the vigilance of the Colombian guardian angel but to no avail, with Nice remaining solid in defense and equally dangerous on the counterattack, exemplified by a sprightly Loïc Rémy. As the minutes ticked by, the first whistles fell from the stands against Alain Perrin’s protégés who brought on Andreu and Sako to try and inject some fresh blood into his team, while Didier Ollé-Nicolle substituted the valiant Ben Saada with the returning Bamago.
With just a few minutes left before the final whistle, it was Loïc Rémy who retrieved a ball some forty meters from Saint-Étienne’s goals to dash forward and score past Janot despite Bayal Sall’s attempt to catch up. 2-0, the mass was said definitively and the eagles could savor their first away victory of the season.
Encouraging starts for Nice, who will host the Football Club de Rennes next Sunday — a team managed by Frédéric Antonetti who also had a good start to his season by winning against Boulogne sur Mer with a decisive score of 3 goals to 0, clinching the provisional lead of Ligue 1. A reunion in a Ray stadium that, undoubtedly, should be well-attended for the first encounter of Nice in front of their home crowd.
See the post-match reactions on the OGC Nice website.
