“There are moments when the wildest dreams seem attainable as long as one dares to attempt them.” Bernard Werber in “The Ants” could have summarized this semi-final during which the Nice ants did not dare in the face of Lille players who were well-positioned and as opportunistic as possible. A dream that fades and will summarize the end of the season with the watchword of maintaining status. It’s a shame, the opportunity seemed to be there…
A boiling stadium with over 17,000 spectators supporting the red and black team and ideal spring weather were the last assets of Eric Roy’s men in this match that was supposed to open the doors of the Stade de France to one of the two teams. It is undoubtedly this that tensed the eaglets who started the match at a slow pace, aided by the Lille players who often leisurely passed the ball around. The observation round was indeed set, and it was only after a quarter of an hour that Mouloungui had the first opportunity for Nice, but he was a few centimeters short of sending a good cross from Mounier into Landreau’s goal.
Few or no opportunities on either side and the match settled into boredom when Balmont had to leave the field, visibly strained in his upper thigh, under the ovations of the Nice crowd who still remember very well the exploits of Florent de Nissa. It was Hazard’s turn to come into play a little earlier than expected. Barely had he found his footing when the young Belgian prodigy was offered a magnificent ball in the Nice area, and his shot deflected by Pejcinovic deceived the vigilance of a helpless Letizi on the first Lille attempt. Just before halftime, it was a textbook killer goal, but Eric Roy then decided to change his system of play during the break by bringing in Ben Saada instead of a very lackluster Bellion that night.
There again, barely time to catch your breath when Gervinho’s little devil streaked ahead of Letizi, who tried to force the Lille striker into an angle, but the sharp northern shooter didn’t miss the target and doubled the score in a stunned stadium. One would think that a goal before halftime was tough, but the second right after returning from the locker room was almost mission impossible for Nice, who were once again defeated but, and this is probably the only positive point to take from this match, not downcast. Mouloungi’s attempts might have sometimes deserved more than just hitting the post and often needed more precision. The Nice players tried everything… and no, and that’s the crux of the problem, even if at the end of the match the eaglets could have reduced the score, it was very close for Lille not to widen the margin if Gervinho hadn’t played his team’s last counter-attack nonchalantly. There you have it, it’s over, as Jean-Louis Aubert would have sung, and even if it isn’t positive, it’s not that negative either because if the Nice players showed too much timidity during the first half, the stakes probably played a part. They displayed combativeness and solidarity at the end of the match, and that’s what should be remembered for an end of the season with the taste of maintaining status with a next trip worth the detour to the Stade Vรฉlodrome in Marseille.
