Counter stuck at 30 points for three matches, Angers is looking for a way forward and its attackers to score in front. At the start of 2021, Stéphane Bahoken and Loïs Diony have still not found the net. It is not for lack of obtaining opportunities, but efficiency or success are not at the rendezvous, like this diving head at close range from Diony pushed back with a reflex of the foot by Keylor Navas against PSG (0-1, January 16) or this volley of the right of Bahoken crashing on a post in Bordeaux (1-2, January 24).
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“We cannot say that we have an insolent success at the moment”
Stéphane Moulin, Angers trainer
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“It’s part of a season, note, fatalist, Stéphane Moulin. We cannot say that we have an insolent success at the moment. It does not laugh too much “ Top scorer of the SCO (5 goals), Bahoken, who had offered himself a double in Nîmes in the first leg (5-1, on November 8) is forfeited for the reunion with the Crocs. Victim of a muscle injury to a calf, he will give way to Diony, who scored his first goal at Costières in his new colors, from the penalty spot. “Against Nîmes, we had a full match, assures the former Stéphanois. When you put in 5 goals, you were very efficient. If we can do the same on Sunday, that will be fine. “
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But, for the Angevin staff, this meeting against the red lantern of the Championship, has all the trap match. “It would be presumptuous to say that Nîmes is the ideal opponent to revive, warns Patrice Sauvaget, the assistant coach in charge of the attackers. IThey have just won a deserved victory in Marseille (2-1, January 16)after giving Lille a hard time (0-1, January 9). »
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“There is no doubt to be”
Loïs Diony, Angers striker
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If Diony, who has not scored since his goal against OM (2-1, December 23), is still chasing his 3rd goal of the season, the 28-year-old striker is not worried . “There is no doubt about it, he sweeps. The coach stressed that we were a little less successful. It’s up to us to rectify the situation. “ Especially since, in the game, the SCO did better than compete with PSG or Bordeaux. Angers thus shot as many times on goal as Paris (11) and dominated the Girondins (15 shots against 7). “It would be annoying if we didn’t try a single shot. Now, when you know that you will start the match, 8 times out of 10, you know that you will have at least one chance, Diony continues. Afterwards, it’s up to you to be focused on this opportunity to put it to the bottom. “
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” Our role, insists Sauvaget, it is above all to show them confidence. Just because they are having a little more difficult period in terms of efficiency doesn’t mean that their qualities have disappeared overnight. It’s part of the vagaries of a season. On another level, we criticized Kylian Mbappé a very short time ago because he was no longer scoring. He set the record straight on the last day against Montpellier (4-0, January 22). “
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“When you feel good and you go out, it hurts”
Loïs Diony, Angers striker
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Arrived on September 10, short of preparation, after a mixed season in Saint-Étienne, where he ended up in “the loft”, and an ATV accident, Diony recovered physical and moral health in Anjou, alternating between at stake (12) and tenure (7). “The fact of returning to the fields and to a series of matches every weekend, it allows you to express yourself and find your feelings, which I had lost in Saint-Étienne, appreciates the attacker. At SCO, there is a real technical touch. Before arriving here, I knew Thomas Mangani had a velvet paw but I really discovered Angelo Fulgini, a top player in the Championship. For an attacker, it’s a pleasure to play alongside them. “
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A pleasure that he would like to share from time to time with … a second tip. “The only point where I’m a little disgusted is that the starting striker always comes out around the 60th, 65th minute. Maybe the coach does this for the sake of giving each other some playing time, but when you feel good and you go out, it hurts. The coach never tried to line us up together, that could be great. “
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