Sacred in 2012 in Auxerre, the MHSC finds the AJA, competitor in maintenance, this Sunday (3 p.m.).
The times are changing. The last time a Montpellier HSC team put their cleats on the lawn of the Abbé-Deschamps stadium, they were preparing to get the moon in the Burgundy night. On May 20, 2012, AJ Auxerre was relegated and its supporters rained tennis balls and interruptions on a match forbidden to the undecided. But in the end (1-2), the MHSC had exulted, winning the timpani and the title of champion of L1.
Ten years and eight months later, times have changed. And if the two teams meet for the first time in Burgundy, it is with the fear in the stomach and keeping the line of sight. And without thinking ahead. “It inevitably brings back memories. But these are completely different situations. So there is no need to make comparisons”evacuated Romain Pitau on Friday.
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Here are the 2⃣0⃣ players selected for the reception of the @MontpellierHSC #TeamAJA #AJAMHSC pic.twitter.com/errvoYzzoC
— AJ Auxerre (@AJA) January 28, 2023
Remained on the bench that evening, the former midfielder will again find the bench in the small enclosure this Sunday. But not with the same butterflies in the stomach. In Auxerre, current 19th in the championshiphis MHSC (15th) begins the return phase diminished, without Wahi, Khazri or the rookie Kouyaté, all suspended.
With The countback, and after a fortnight of forced break, he plays there above all the first act of a way of the cross which will lead him to meet six other aspirants to survival in the elite (Strasbourg, Brest, Troyes, Angers, AC Ajaccio, Clermont) by mid-March. “It will be matches, not ‘finals’, but with very valuable points at stake. So these next two months will be very important”underlined Maxime Estève.
The kid from Canet hasn’t forgotten anything. And especially not what the current situation of an MHSC on the slippery slope for almost a year implies. “It’s up to us players to be aware of the situation and, above all, at the end of the season, tell yourself that you are not one of the 20 players who have brought down the club, believes the defender. That stays on a CV, it stays a lifetime and we can’t erase it.”
remember last summer
Estève also remembers last summer. In the moist August heat, the AJA had come to air-condition La Mosson after a crazy game four red cards (Savanier and Fayad, Niang and Da Costa) and three goals, but only one for the MHSC, scored by Mamadou Sakho (1-2). “The goal will be to get points at home as they did at home”breathes Estève.
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? 20 players called up pic.twitter.com/Yzgm4GSmvt— MHSC (@MontpellierHSC) January 28, 2023
Since then, Auxerre has only won two additional successes and has changed a lot: coach Jean-Marc Furlan has been replaced by Christophe Pelissier but the Yonne team remains on five setbacks consecutive in L1.
Despite everything, she offered herself a break in the Coupe de France, winning at Niort (L2, 4-0), last Sunday. A breath of fresh air that Montpellier would need. To evacuate a little the last three trauma Nice (6-1), Nantes (3-0) or Pau (2-1). And for times to change, where everything had changed one evening in May 2012.
