Beaten in Laval (3-1), Friday January 13, the Raf finished the first leg in a relegation position. A look back at the first half of the championship through several key figures.
17th and first relegated at mid-term (pending the match between Niort and Saint-Etienne on Monday), the Ruthénois end the first leg in the red zone. They are customary at the bottom of the table, since they found themselves in one of the four places synonymous with descent at the end of 14 of the 19 contested days. They once pointed to the last row, after their draw against Valenciennes (J8, 1-1). Conversely, their best ranking is 11th place, occupied after the draw at Quevilly (0-0)… during the first day.
Rémy Boissier and his partners were led by three different coaches. After seven and a half years on the Aveyron bench and two climbs, Laurent Peyrelade was dismissed from his post at the beginning of November. Didier Santini, a novice in L2, succeeded him and released his costume during the defeat at Sochaux (1-0), at the end of the unprecedented truce caused by the World Cup. In the meantime, assistant Emerick Darbelet had acted in the interim during the victory at Saint-Etienne (2-0).
With only seven points collected at Paul-Lignon in nine matches, Rodez has the worst home record in the championship. The blood and gold public had to wait for the arrival of Dijon, on December 30, to finally see their proteges win on their lawn. Even if the Ruthénois had a full-bodied program at home, with the reception of five of the first six in the standings (Le Havre, Bordeaux, Metz, Grenoble and Amiens) during the first leg, they will have to improve their record rue Vieussens to believe in the maintenance.
Rodez opened the scoring only 4 times during the first leg. This is the worst team in this area, with Niort. Because of this bad habit, Joris Chougrani and his partners have too often embarked on adverse scenarios by chasing the score. Especially since the Raf is used to performing when it strikes first. In this configuration, he won three times (Bastia, 2-0; Saint-Etienne, 2-0; Dijon, 2-1) and conceded a draw (Valenciennes, 1-1). Conversely, he managed to win only once after being led (Paris FC, 2-1).
With 17 goals scored, the Raf has one of the weakest attacking records in the championship. Only Niort (15) and Pau (16) shook the nets less often. With 4 achievements, Clément Depres is the top scorer in Aveyron.
On the defensive side, Rodez ends the first phase with the 15th defense of L2 (25 goals conceded).
Symbol of a failed start to the season, the Ruthénois had to wait for the 5th day to finally taste victory, on the lawn of Bastia (2-0). Such a sluggish start had not happened for at least 15 years. With late recruitment (seven arrivals in August) and departures just before the start of the championship (Julien Célestine) or after the first day (Adilson Malanda, Pierre Bardy), the blood and gold experienced a turbulent summer and struggled to get started. This situation had also caused tension between President Pierre-Olivier Murat and former coach Laurent Peyrelade, before the meeting against Bordeaux (J3, 0-3).
On average, the number of goals per game conceded by Sébastien Cibois. The goalkeeper recruited in Brest and landed with the status of number 1 was deceived 10 times during the first 6 days. He quickly paid for his team’s poor start to the season as well as individual errors, being then demoted to Lionel Mpasi’s understudy. Since this change, Raf has posted a better defensive ratio (15 goals conceded in 13 matches). But that did not prevent Cibois from finding colors in the Coupe de France.
Midfielder Bradley Danger played all 19 matches in the first leg, representing 1,710 minutes of playing time (excluding stoppage time). Behind him, the most used Ruthenians are Killian Corredor (1,463 minutes) and Akim Abdallah (1,341). Only one other outfield player played the entire first leg: Le Havre defender Arouna Sanganté.
Raf’s first part of the season was spiced up by the Coupe de France. The blood and gold managed to qualify on the lawn of two prestigious clubs, Saint-Etienne (L2, 7th round; 0-0 4-3 pens) and Monaco (L1, 32nd final; 2-2, 5-4 tab). In the meantime, they released Roche-Saint-Genest (R2, 1-0). For the first time in 13 years, Rodez will play a 16th final. It will be this Saturday at 6 p.m., in Grasse (N3).
