Reduced to 10 after just 9 minutes of play, Chamois lost 3-0 to Grenoble on Matchday 12 in Ligue 2. A winless eighth match that threw Niort into a critical situation. But the chamois don’t want to abdicate.
Everything seems to be against Chamois Niortais at the beginning of the season. Especially when, against a good team from Grenoble, the Niortais penalize themselves. “We can’t afford to leave the game after 9 minutes of play, it’s my 5And game and we already had 2 red cards, we also suffered 2 penalties in Le Havre, we must quickly understand that we have to stay in the game for 90 minutes“, Niortais coach Rui Almeida reacted at the end of the match.
From the start, his team did not make things easy: following a confrontation in the final, defender Guy-Marcelin Kilama was sent off. Rui Almeida then decides to eliminate his striker to remain as solid as possible in defense. “I preferred to be with 3 central defenders to counter their system. Until half time, the moments when we had the ball, we were able to create a little. Sure, the opposing team was more dangerous with power play, but I think it was the right decision“, Considers the Niortais coach.
However, the chamois didn’t last long since in the 19And minute, Grenoble opened the scoring. Despite the desire to hold on, at the start of the last quarter of an hour it was the inhabitants of Grenoble who gave themselves a breath of fresh air, only to worsen the score with 5 minutes to go. “We tried to face and resist as long as possible against a very good team from Grenoble.“, sums up Niort goalkeeper Mathieu Michel.”Towards the 60sAnd minute, we started diving, watching, on his sidecoach Rui Almeida. We can’t do it, losing 3-0 is not good, even for the average goal!“
At the end of the match, the fans were torn between disappointment and dissatisfaction. “The refereeing was terrible. We can be wrong once, but there, it is 2 or 3 times that he was wrong. In these conditions it is difficult“complains an annoyed supporter.”Grenoble is a good team that deserved the victory, I never talk about refereeing“, Rui Almeida immediately cut off.
Beyond the facts of the game, other fans point out a lack of efficiency in attack. An observation shared by Mathieu Michel: “We will also have to find the way of the nets to restore confidence to our forwards and all our team behind. We have shown great things without being rewarded, but it is already a sign that it is possible, so we must believe it.“
Keep believing it and “take refuge in work“, seem to be the watchwords at the end of this heavy defeat, which leaves Chamois Niortais, the last dead in Ligue 2.”I urge supporters to be patient. It is a difficult match for the team as well as for them. You have to trust the team, work together and move forward. We only have 5 weeks of work together and 5 games. But that’s not an excuse, I take responsibility and I don’t hide, those are my choices“, Try to train Rui Almeida positively.
In the post-match press conference, Mathieu Michel also called on people to hold their heads up. “We are inevitably disappointed, but it is only 12 o’clockAnd day, nothing is lost. I’ve been through a lot in my career, nothing is ever finished. The hardest thing in these cases is to keep a united and cohesive group. We must not disperse or panic, the championship is still very long“, Niort’s goalkeeper insists. A message shared yesterday by a fan after the defeat:”I don’t lose hope, you have to believe it “. The chamois will receive Dijon in a week, on October 22, to try to revive.
