The Nantes-Toulouse debrief – 20 minutes
- FC Nantes remained in pain against Toulouse in the play-offs on Sunday evening.
- The epilogue of a catastrophic season for the Canaries.
- Antoine Kombouaré could push a sigh of relief at the end of this match lost (0-1) by his men.
“It’s a little miracle. […] We did not go far from the disaster. Very close to an industrial accident too. The FC Nantes, yet beaten (0-1) by the TFC on Sunday night in the return leg of the play-offs, owes its maintenance and its salvation to its success (1-2) last Thursday at the Stadium, in the first leg.
“Paralyzed by the stake”, according to Kombouaré, the Canaries may have achieved “the worst game of their season” for the goalkeeper, Alban Lafont. Nantes shook all of its limbs for the entire match. The six minutes of added time seemed to last for hours for the Canaries. Antoine Kombouaré: “This is the first time that I am happy after a defeat, that I have so much emotion, that I cry of joy like that. We went through the very, very small door. It is deserved, but we were very scared. Especially when Bayo opened the scoring shortly after the hour mark on a header. And even more when Charles Traoré completely involuntarily touched the ball with his hand ten minutes from the end and the referee stuck his finger on his earpiece …
Antoine Kombouaré relieved and very moved
“It was hard until the end, continues captain Alban Lafont. It is a pressure that cannot be imagined. Can’t describe, it’s a great relief. “Kombouaré, who affirmed that he was ready to continue on the Nantes bench (he is automatically two years older thanks to this acquired maintenance), again him:” Today, we don’t care, we lost, but maintenance is essential. These players have lived an incredible season, so complicated, it is the reward for their dedication, their work, and also a little of their talent. Sunday evening, the latter was completely absent.
A Nantes coach who confided that “it is the first time that I am happy after a defeat, that I have so much emotion, that I cry of joy like that”. And who had tears in his eyes several times in the post-game. “I would have lived very badly if I had brought this club to L2, it would have been atrocious. “
A few minutes after the press conference, President Kita spoke to the employees gathered on the lawn of La Beaujoire. He did not speak of an “atrocious” season, but of a “shitty season”. “I hope we will never do that again”, he also declared, before weaving laurels to Antoine Kombouaré (arrived at the beginning of February), fourth coach (after Gourcuff, Collot and Domenech) of a season Nantes mediocre, trying, but with a happy outcome for the club.