It was ultimately Joseph Désiré Job who partnered Koné at the tip of the Nice attack at the start of this match in a well-filled stadium that gave an ovation to the heroes of Marseille. Yet opposite, the Lens players were seeking their first league success and after their convincing UEFA Cup victory (5-1 against Berne), Jean-Pierre Papin’s men hoped to return north with at least a point. That’s why JPP chose to start the match with two attackers, Aruna and Akalé. A tactic that paid off since the red and gold, unusually in white last night, collected corners without, however, deceiving the vigilance of the Nice defense. The rare times the northerners catch the Côte d’Azur defenders off-guard, it’s against Hugo Lloris that they perpetually stumble.
The domination of Antonetti’s men grew greater but success was not forthcoming for the azure players either, and ultimately it was with a blank score and all told logical that the 22 players returned to the dressing room. Lively and pleasant play on each side certainly, but neither team managed to capitalize on even the slightest opportunity in a pleasant match that lacked only goals.
And as if to fulfill the dream of an entire stadium, it’s Bakary Koné who will deliver his side, ideally served by Rool, the nimble Ivorian adjusts his shot, Runje can only retrieve the ball from the back of his net. 52 minutes of play and OGC Nice has just taken the lead, admittedly the smallest that exists but the scoreboard cannot lie: Nice 1 – Lens 0.
Antonetti then brings on Bamogo in place of a very quiet Job up to now and yellow cards are now raining down on Lens players who attempt to push rather clumsily. The Corsican coach’s tactics pay off as Bamogo troubles the northern defense which struggles to contain the Nice attacker. Nice holds firm but the specter of the final minutes worries the crowd who have already experienced two disappointments against Rennes and Toulouse against whom Nice had already led with the same score without managing to see it through. Even worse since last year Nice also led 1-0 against Lens before losing in the final moments with a score of 2-1.
There are still 10 minutes to hold and what seemed bound to happen, did happen. Ramos charges toward goal and enters the area, facing him Echouafni attempts an intervention but unfortunately an illegal one. It’s the indisputable penalty and the nightmare begins to take shape again. Dindane places the ball on the penalty spot, Hugo Lloris prepares himself and it’s finally his post that will transform the nightmare into new hope. The minutes tick away and the Lens players find no solution to break the Nice lock. We even pass the fatal 86th minute mark, often fatal to the azure players, and even three long minutes of added time won’t change anything this time. OGC Nice emerge victorious with three points in the bag that propel the red and black club to a respectable 11th place in the Ligue 1 standings.
The next chapter of the eaglets’ saga, Saturday September 15 against an ailing but always very difficult to play AJ Auxerre on their home ground, then it will be a great classic that will bring back memories to old OGC Nice supporters with the reception of Saint Etienne’s greens, next Saturday September 22.
More good memories in prospect?
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