Winner of five of their last six matches, the Raf goes to Annecy with full confidence tonight. With a direct competitor, he has the opportunity to distance himself a little further from the bottom of the table.
The lake without the fire. Rodez goes to Annecy this evening, with the serenity aroused by his great form and his enviable ranking in the race for maintenance. In a direct competitor, the partners of Rémy Boissier, back from suspension, can even take a giant step towards the renewal of their lease on the second floor of French football. “Every game is a final. It’s up to us to stick to our principles”, defended coach Didier Santini, refusing any projection. But as the end of the season approaches, his men could quickly hit the mark if they manage to extend their momentum of recent weeks, they who have won five of their last six meetings and have at least two victories in advance. on relegation.
Annecy, a good memory for Rodez
The starting point of the resurrection, against Niort (3-2), came three days after the final point of the course in the Coupe de France, and it is perhaps not just a coincidence, as epics can be costly physical energy and mental freshness. From the top of their quarter-final, the Ruthénois also share with their evening opponent the joys of long-term adventure. As well as some inconveniences. If the Annecy residents have done better than the Raf by climbing into the last four, they have in common the identity of the executioner, Toulouse, and the loss of feathers in the league. But they also obtained a precious success just after having swept the party favors, by disposing of Valenciennes (2-1, April 10), another competitor at the bottom of the table, despite more than half an hour in numerical inferiority.
During the journey that will take them to the Alps, the people of Aveyron will have plenty of time to meditate on the lows and highs of a season. And to turn your back a little more on the former and open up to the latter, a good performance in Haute-Savoie would be in the best taste. It would also have the merit of summoning up pleasant memories, since in the history of the Raf, the Annecy Sports Park will forever be associated with the blessed memory of Michel Poisson’s gang, since it had imposed itself there in Round of 16 of the Coupe de France (2-0), in 1991. One of the unforgettable stages towards the semi-final in Marseille, marked by the trip to Haute-Savoie of several hundred blood and gold supporters in chartered trains for the occasion, then their festive welcome by the players at Rodez station, the day after the match.
“We must not play ball”
A week after overcoming Laval (1-0), another wrestling competitor, the blood and gold would welcome a new favorable result against a promoted. For this, Didier Santini warns that it will be necessary to avoid repeating the same mistakes as against Dijon (0-1), the only hiccup for a month and a half. “We must not play balllaunched the coach. We will have to bring even more play, not panic in the pressing, not try to do anything other than what we do well.”
Besides Boissier’s return to midfield, he is expected to keep the same starting XI as last week, with Bradley Danger behind and Sambou Soumano alongside Killian Corredor up front. In other words, what looks more and more like a typical team, born during a victorious spring.
