After a victory at Valenciennes practically ensuring its maintenance, Amiens SC was satisfied with the minimum for the rest of this month of April. With four draws for a defeat and a victory and above all a generally failing state of mind, the Amiens confirmed the fears about a possible general demobilization. Full debrief.
Valenciennes, Akolo sees the light
This is without a doubt the last turning point of the season for Amiens SC. With 37 points on the clock, Amiens has the opportunity to break and almost ensure the maintenance if successful at Valenciennes, one of his closest pursuers. After a fairly neutral start to the match, the Picards turned the game around in a handful of minutes, thanks to a double from Chadrac Akoloauthor of his ninth and tenth goals in all competitions.
All in a rather particular context following the sanctions taken by Philippe Hinschberger against five latecomers (Diakhaby, Dossevi, Bamba, Sy, Doums) during the final training session of the week. ” Some players have reached the limit. I did not make this decision to please myself, to exclude people, I wanted to show that the institution had to be respected, it is important, justified the coach of Amiens SC after this ninth success of the season. When you make this kind of decision and you win, it forces everyone to get back on the right track.. »
Bastia, zero down the line
« I think we really have the situations to score in the first half. We didn’t and we broke our necks in the second half. We have already been better. Not our best home game. Philippe Hinschberger’s analysis after Amiens SC’s sad draw against Bastia at least had the merit of being lucid and objective. Almost maintained, Amiens SC has cruel imagination and precision to bend a solid team from Bastia, who came to Picardy above all to take a point. Only a strong moment around the first half hour of play gave a semblance of hope to the supporters of Amiens SC.
Amiens even avoided the worst on the way back from the locker room when Régis Gurtner cleared behind Benjamin Santelli, forcing Fofana to make a desperate comeback to clear the ball in front of his line. Entered during the game, Kader Bamba preferred to seek the penalty rather than time his chance after additional time. An insufficient performance to allow Amiens to win their tenth success of the season.
Caen, a hot spot
Faced with the team in form at the moment, Amiens approached its trip to Caen with caution, a meeting launching the final week with three matches of the season. ” We are two teams that play liberated, so we will come up against a big piece in great shape and I hope we will be able to give the right reparteelaunched Philippe Hinschberger before the meeting. We paid a month ago in Toulouse by taking a box, it didn’t make me laugh. I don’t want to start over. This will not be the case for a Picardy team deprived at the last moment of Aliou Badji, dismissed for disciplinary reasons, after having notably dried up the pre-match chat.
Without its top scorer, Amiens suffered at the start of the game, particularly through Lamine Sy, Harouna Sy’s little brother. But Gurtner kept an eye on the grain and repelled the opposing attempts, until this failed corner from Jessy Deminguet but improved at the near post by Prince Oniangué for the opener. The Picards did not allow doubt to settle and reacted through Tolu, author of the right gesture with a small ball stung to sanction the off-time exit of Sullivan Péan. In numerical inferiority after the expulsion of Owen Gene, Amiens managed to preserve this score to bring back the point of the draw from Normandy.
Le Havre, the point of no return
So far, it is the match that has aroused the greatest anger of Philippe Hinschberger this season, yet not to be outdone when judging the performance of his team for several matches: “ It’s bullshit. We foiled, we did not play. We played in flip flops. We had a game between friends. It’s not serious, it’s not respecting football, our work and the club. I am the coach of Amiens and I am pissed off at his mediocrity. If we had as much professionalism to make matches as to arrive late, damn we would be champion of France, we would be in the Champions League, that I tell you. »
A justified anger in view of the infamous performance delivered by his team, which nevertheless had the weapons to bring down a team from Le Havre far from impressive. However, Amiens made the mistake of not playing as a team, once again. In addition to individual arabesques by some, most of the attackers were disconnected from the rest of the team when the ball was lost. Enough to give a team cut in half and in danger on each opposing breakthrough. In this context, Le Havre’s victory was clearly not stolen and this painful setback put Amiens back in its rightful place, far from the sixth which was however its avowed objective at the end of the season.
Dunkirk, boredom or nothing
Three days after the debacle against Le Havre, Philippe Hinschberger made new strong choices by depriving himself of Kader Bamba and Aliou Badji, while leaving Arnaud Lusamba on the bench at kick-off. ” I don’t think about that. I have a group to manage, I was very disappointed, frustrated and upset with Tuesday’s game. I did not at all want to explain in front of 400 people why we had lost this match. It pissed me off, clearly. I resented the players, I stepped back, I made my choices and I did not discussjustifies the coach of the ASC. When you expect a lot from people you are also more demanding, that’s how it is. That’s life. »
Without its top scorer (Badji) and its best passer (Bamba), Amiens clearly lacked inspiration to defeat a tiny Dunkirk, more than ever destined for relegation. With the exception of a goal denied to Tolu Arokodare for an offside position, the best situations came from set pieces, like this acrobatic gesture from Formose Mendy forcing Jérémy Vachoux to intervene on his line . The end of the match saw Dunkirk throw their last forces into battle but Régis Gurtner was there to oppose Mohamed Ouadah and Kévin Rocheteau.
Grenoble or how to settle for the minimum
If a match was needed to illustrate the season of Amiens SC, this trip to Grenoble could well be the most appropriate. Execrable in the first period, like an offensive sector unable to put itself at the service of the collective – leading Philippe Hinschberger to leave Tolu Arokodare and Kader Bamba at half-time – the former contender for the top 5 gradually raised his tone back from the locker room, in the wake of a found Arnaud Lusamba. Enough to allow Aliou Badji to equalize very logically, on an action initiated by number 10 of the ASC. Victory was even within reach of the Picards, finally too clumsy in the last gesture.
Enough to draw up an overall picture as frustrating as it is tiresome about this match and the season as a whole. All perfectly summed up by Philippe Hinschberger: “ Our football is being lost week after week. Our first half is infamous, it’s too weak, it’s unacceptable, it’s unworthy of a Ligue 2 club. How do you want to win in a game like that, when you start playing at game time? I stop analyzing and trying to understand. I’m disappointed, they got it. That’s all. I think we will be angry until the end of the season and that’s not a problem for me. »
The full report (with xG comparison):
Valenciennes – Amiens : 0-2 (2.24 xG – 1.36 xG)
Amiens – Bastia : 0-0 (1.33 xG – 0.80 xG)
Caen – Amiens : 1-1 (1,61 xG – 0,95 xG)
Amiens – Le Havre : 0-2 (1,55 xG – 1,40 xG)
Dunkirk – Amiens : 0-0 (1.17 xG – 1.30 xG)
Grenoble – Amiens : 1-1 (1,13 xG – 0,93 xG)
