The year 2015 starts off poorly for OGC Nice, eliminated from the French Cup after a 2-0 defeat on Valenciennes’ field. At the end of a rather lackluster match and on a difficult pitch, the Aiglons raise concerns. Now, attention turns to Ligue 1 where the relegation zone is only three points away.
Already a headache for OGC Nice. After a very average end to the season concluded by a defeat at Lens (2-0), Nice starts 2015 in the worst possible way with an elimination as early as the round of 64. The cups of the 2014-2015 season are not favoring the Aiglons, already eliminated in the first round of the League Cup against Metz (3-3, 2-3 on penalties). Yet, Nice had been on a streak of four consecutive qualifications to the round of 32 in the French Cup. End of the streak.
The two teams watch each other at the start and try to find their footing on a very slippery pitch due to the continuous afternoon showers. Valenciennes and Nice focus on maintaining possession, but errors prevail. On the first real chance of the match, Valenciennes scores. Sigamary Diarra finds Adama Coulibaly’s head, who gains the advantage over Romain Genevois, and his header ends up in the bottom corner past Mouez Hassen (1-0, 11th minute). The response takes time and does not come until the 23rd minute. Bauthéac’s free-kick is deflected, forcing Charruau, the northern goalkeeper, into a save. Following the action, a major scramble occurs in the Valenciennes’ defense, but neither Bauthéac nor Genevois manage to reclaim the ball. In the last minute, Nice collapses. Poepon recovers a ball poorly cleared by Nice’s defense in the box and manages to beat Hassen with a post-in shot (2-0, 44th minute). A half to forget.
“We were supposed to play a cup match, and that was not the case. We lacked far too many elements tonight to even compete and hope. […] At times like this, we need to keep a low profile, question ourselves, and get back to work on Monday to show something different,” declared Claude Puel on the club’s official website.
The second half starts rather well for Claude Puel’s men, who react through Neal Maupay. The young Nice attacker is well set up by Bauthéac, but the northern defender, Abdelhamid, performs a good defensive move preventing him from shooting. Few clear opportunities from either side. Plea tries twice to find a breakthrough but faces a solid Valenciennes defense. The entries of Hult and Bosetti do not change the outcome of the match. Far too many inaccuracies on Nice’s side to hope for a comeback in the game. Eysseric tries his luck at the end, but his shot is well caught by Charruau.
“We completely missed our first half, and we paid for it. Losing against a Ligue 2 team makes it increasingly complicated,” explained Didier Digard on Eurosport’s microphone after the match.
Nice leaves the competition with their heads bowed. The situation is getting complicated with 11th place in Ligue 1 but only three points ahead of the first team in the relegation zone. The upcoming home game against Lorient on Saturday (8 PM) is already decisive before the word “crisis” can even be spoken. The likely arrival of Hatem Ben Arfa early next week could give the Azurins a much-needed boost they have been seeking for a while.
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