This time they finally reached the goal. A collective objective, a sort of moral contract between the players and the coach who was to reach fifty points after having lived through a tense last season to say the least. It has therefore been done since this Saturday evening when the Grenoble team logically beat Niort. A success that will do good to the head after two consecutive defeats.
Even if all these beautiful people had met at the foot of the Alps, we did not often reach the summits between the two formations. The Niortais, last in the championship, appeared almost resigned while the Grenoble residents played in sequences without trying too hard to force their talent.
Bamba’s Return
As he had indicated before the meeting, Vincent Hognon had decided to make some changes to his starting lineup. It was Loïc Nestor and Arial Mendy who took advantage in defense. In front, the technician maintained his confidence in Pape Meïssa Ba, still looking for a goal since October 15 and a victory for his team in the first leg in Niort (3-0). It hasn’t been right for the striker yet. He even had bad luck by slipping a golden ball to Bamba who could have offered him an assist and therefore one more line on his stats sheet.
But as nothing smiles on the Senegalese, his partner found the top of the crossbar (34e). He had not been far from the double on this one. Because it was Bamba who was the first to find the fault in this meeting and achieved a nice highlight in Grenoble. Eccentric, he tried his luck with a curled shot in the area. The ball passed through a forest of legs to end its course in the opposite side netting (1-0, 30e). The GF had largely dominated the first period, which was not so complicated given the adversity of the day, but he had only a small goal in advance at the break.
Nestor at the forefront
The advantage was logical and Grenoble tried to put a little more pressure in the second act. Bamba was often in the good times of his training as if he had found his legs, his ideas and his will to do well. Everything he had left aside for a few weeks. It must be said that the end of the season is approaching and that it is surely time to put your nose to the window.
In any case, the people of Isère displayed a real mastery of their subject. There were sometimes a few superfluous delicacies, and even a touch of individualism, but the GF38 continued to dictate the pace of the game. Merdji found the post with a header (88e) but it was the Isérois who had the last word on a fine movement between Phaëton and Nestor concluded by Correa (2-0, 90e). The GF38 had well deserved its victory.
Vincent Hognon (Grenoble coach): “We fulfilled the contract. I think we deserve the victory tonight (Saturday, editor’s note). We took cover too late but I’m happy because we achieved our goal by reaching 50 points, which was our goal since the start of the season. We are five days from the end, it’s a good performance from the players. Tonight, I want to remember the positive, it’s not easy to motivate the players in our position at 7e place. This match is a bit like our season. A clean sheet again with a nice save from Brice and a victory. I am happy. »
Bernard Simondi (Niort coach): “The situation is such that heads are down and we don’t need to add to what our end of the season will be like. We have passed up another opportunity to do something. It’s a shame because we managed to blur the cards a bit at times. But we were unfortunate in our technical and tactical choices. This put us in additional difficulties which we would have done without. For the end of the season, I expect us to show a little self-esteem, that we have a real desire to surpass ourselves. Some players must be frustrated after this game. Because in football, we play with eleven and not only with four or five. »
2023-04-29 22:01:01
#Football #Ligue #reached #goal #defeats #Grenoble #returns #victory
