On the goalkeeper’s side, it was Lionel Letizi who was called into action as early as the 4th minute by a headed shot on target from Sambou following a corner. The match got underway, and the Nice team took the initiative with a good overtake by Bamogo, but attempts by Traore and Remy were blocked by the Norman defenders. Then it was the turn of the other goalkeeper and captain, Christophe Revault, to shine by boxing away a nice strike from Jeunechamp following the clearance of a corner by the Le Havre defense. The first twenty minutes of play turned to the advantage of Antonetti’s men. There was a moment for Lionel Letizi to experience a bit of a scare on a back pass and a blocked clearance that could have cost him an own goal. Remy and Bamogo headed back towards the Le Havre penalty area without managing to outwit the vigilance of Revault and his team. Emerse Fae opened the score for yellow cards before a last free kick from Le Havre which resulted in nothing, and Mr. Jaffredo sent both teams back to the locker room with a goalless score, which was quite logical.
As in the first half, Loïc Rémy demonstrated his potential with good intentions and a 25-meter shot that, unfortunately, flew over the Le Havre crossbar. The pressure was again from Nice, but the finishing was lacking, prompting Frédéric Antonetti to replace Bamogo with Modeste and then, following that, Traoré with Ben Saada. The match lost its intensity, and both teams seemed to ease off when the unexpected happened. In the 73rd minute of play, Jean-Michel Lesage took control of the ball at the edge of the penalty area, sidestepped Vincent Hognon with a clever move, entered the box, and unleashed a shot aimed at Lionel Letizi’s goal, which would likely have been easy to control had it not been unintentionally deflected by Cédric Kanté. The score was opened by Le Havre, and even though it was against the run of play, the Aiglons only had 15 minutes left to hope to at least bring back a point from Normandy. Modeste tried his best to turn the tide, but captain Revault remained vigilant until the end of 90 minutes.
OGC Nice did not break the jinx of the first matchday of the championship, but it’s certain that once their finishing improves, this team will be able to compete with the best. The focus now is on preparing well for the arrival of Nancy next Saturday at the Stade du Ray, hoping for as good a result as last year when the Aiglons won 1-0 against Pablo Correa’s team.
The reactions of Frédéric Antonetti and the players
See the goal of the Le Havre-Nice match
