A first half of very high quality and calm control at the beginning of the second, after an hour Nice had almost already won against Troyes. But ‘almost’ is not enough and the Eagles ended up being caught up in a spectacular match that ended with a score of 3-3.
Start of the second half. Ben Arfa, as since the kickoff, is having a blast.
He strings together nutmegs, quick touches, and perfect passes, embodying the confidence and control of the Gym on his own. It must be said that before the break, his teammates and he put themselves in an ideal situation to secure their first victory of the season. And with some character too. Because as early as the 3rd minute it was indeed Troyes who opened the score. On a long ball from the right, the young forward on loan from Monaco accelerated into the box and blasted a shot past Mouez Hassen at the near post. A very nice goal that didn’t give the advantage to the hosts for long. In the Nice attack developed following the engagement, Alassane Pléa obtained a penalty. On his control, he was tripped by Jonathan Martins-Pereira, no doubt about it, the referee was right in pointing to the spot. Hazem Ben Arfa doesn’t miss either in converting it. He sends Petric the wrong way and brings Nice level with their opponent.
The Gym puts on a show
Not cooled off, the Trojans set foot back on the ball without showing themselves very threatening. The Nice counters, however, are terrible. On their second shot on target, the reds are, furthermore, effective. Germain offers a perfect header to Pléa. Slightly off-center to the left at the edge of the box, the former Lyon player executes a magnificent volley that crushes Petric. Nice seems set to dominate thanks to their exceptional offensive trio and a midfield of impressive precision. The only shadow on the tableau: the injury exit of the returning Mahamane Traoré, victim of a strain and replaced in the 22nd by Kevin Gomis. But this time unfavorable elements don’t accumulate for Claude Puel. In the 31st, it’s even a Troyes player who is sent off. For a deserved second yellow, Mavinga has to leave his teammates to play with 10. Nice then sets a high tempo and clearly turns up the heat in the match. In the 40th, Petric is forced to make a stunning save after a superb initiative from Pléa at 25 meters. The goalkeeper of ESTAC even performs two other small miracles from the corner, then Baysse who follows up. In the following minute, the Slovenian eventually concedes. With a header, Le Marchand intercepts at the near post a cross from… Pléa, ultra-decisive.
Nice falters at the end of the game
Very good, Nice stopped playing after 70 minutes. The Eagles offered an hour and ten of offensive football recited by players who know the game inside out. Troyes, much less flamboyant and numerically disadvantaged, had another virtue: to fight until the end. And that idea will pay off, quite handsomely. In the 77th, Fabien Camus, makes the stadium of the Aube vibrate with a mid-height missile. He outpaces Séri and Koziello and fires from over twenty meters. Hassan (having made some difficult saves) can do nothing. Not alarmed too much by this brilliant strike, the Azureans decide to calm the game down. But the legs are trembling, and Troyes shows great determination. The pressing, the commitment eventually get rewarded on a last free-kick taken by Camus. In added time and after a magnificent save by Hassen on the first deflection, Thiago Xavier equalizes at 3-3. Cruel for the Niçois who clearly still have lessons to learn.
Photo credit and more information on www.ogcnice.com
ESTAC Troyes 3 – 3 OGC Nice (halftime: 1 – 3).
The lineups:
Troyes: Petric – Martins Pereira, M.Koné, Saunier (captain), Mavinga (sent off at the 31st) – Karaboué, Ayasse (Camus 70th), Pi, Darbion (Cabot 62nd) – Court (Thiago 57th), Jean. Coach: Jean-Marc Furlan.
Nice: Hassen – Traoré (Gomis 22nd), Baysse, Le Marchand, Correia – Koziello (Albert 87th), Seri, N.Mendy (captain), Ben Arfa (Eysseric 72nd) – Pléa, Germain. Coach: Claude Puel.
Warnings: Martins (4th), Mavinga (12th), Court (14th) and Thiago (90+2) for Troyes, Correia (45+1), Ben Arfa (69th), and Albert (90+1) for Nice.
Expulsion: Mavinga (31st)
Goals: Corentin Jean (3), Fabien Camus (77th), and Thiago Xavier (90+2) for Troyes, Hatem Ben Arfa (5th), Alassane Pléa (16th), and Maxime Le Marchand (42nd) for Nice.
Hatem Ben Arfa’s reaction: “We stopped playing in the second half, we’re very disappointed with the result, we saw ourselves at 10 against 11. We’ll have to learn from this mistake. We thought it was in the bag.”
