Coaches of both teams and Ruthenian players react after Rodez’s defeat (2-0) at Saint-Étienne, during the second Ligue 2 play-off.
Didier Santini, Rodez coach
There’s always disappointment when you arrive at such a wonderful event and don’t see it through to the end. But we must accept the victory of the opponent who was good in what he prepared. We lacked a little juice and a lot of technique. But there you are, you end an exceptional, extraordinary season with a defeat, so you might as well do it in the Cauldron, in front of this magnificent audience. We had the ball to get back to everywhere, we made them doubt, they feared us. But regardless, they were better. In life, you have to know how to lose.
Bradley Danger, captain of Rodez
Ewen Jaouen, goalkeeper of Rodez
Obviously disappointed because we lost, but above all proud of the group, of what we did, of what they (his new teammates) did in the first part of the season and until the end. I’m burned out here, I’m going to go and rest. I’m going to keep a lot of positive things, with this experience of the professional world and I’m going to rely on that for the future, it will help me manage pressure well.
Lucas Buades, Rodez piston
There are a few regrets tonight with the defeat, but it was just a bonus. We must remember that we had an exceptional season. We had a magnificent season, with an exceptional group and staff. It was the best Raf at this level, so obviously, there is also a lot of happiness even if tonight there is no qualification for the jump-off.
Tonight, it will be mixed, but tomorrow and when we think about it all summer, we will say that what we experienced was truly magical. Communion with the public also throughout the season. These are perhaps emotions that we will not see again soon in our career, it was extraordinary. Now we need a lot of rest to recover physically and mentally. Because, casually, emotions like that take their toll, we’ll have to come back down and recover well to work again and experience a new season like that!
Giovanni Haag, Rodez midfielder
Straight away, I would say that there is a lot of disappointment and we don’t think about what we did well. But once we go back to the locker room, we talk a little, we tell ourselves that the season has been incredible. It’s no surprise, we were all very, very tired tonight, and we came up against a very, very good team, better than us tonight.
Stone Mambo, defender of Rodez
Olivier Dall’Oglio, coach of Saint-Étienne
We had to get through at all costs. And we came away with an accomplished match, in which we had a lot of chances! It was interesting. I felt a lot of determination (among his players). With the public behind us, it was extraordinary. Both teams were tired, but certainly a little more so Rodez, who played on Tuesday.