The Canaries went on to a fourteenth game without a win at La Beaujoire. – LOIC VENANCE / AFP
- Nantes fell (1-2) this Sunday against Nice at La Beaujoire by completely missing the start of the meeting.
- A fourteenth unsuccessful match for the Canaries at home in the league.
- Nantes, which nevertheless had many opportunities to equalize in the second period, is still 19th and sees Lorient escape (4 points ahead).
The press conferences of coach Antoine Kombouaré and midfielder Abdoulaye Touré, after the new defeat (1-2) of the Canaries, this Sunday, against Nice, will be among the shortest of the season.
Not that the two actors were not inclined to answer questions or were not very talkative, but more so because the journalists did not finally know what to ask because the scenarios are repeated for the FCN over the weeks and so the situation does not improve in the standings (19th place one point from Nîmes and four from Lorient now). “If we continue like this, we will go straight to Ligue 2 …”, ended up releasing Kombouaré anyway, recalling however that there are “seven games or 21 points to be taken” until the end of the championship.
Hanging on to arithmetic is normal, but very soon it will not be enough to keep pace with the FC Nantes, who could well fight with Nîmes (beaten 0-2 by Saint-Etienne on Sunday) to snatch the place of play-off (18th) at the end of the season.
Handicapped by their start to the match
Sunday afternoon, without a decisive Alban Lafont on numerous occasions in his goal, but at fault on Dolberg’s second goal, Nice could have killed almost any suspense during the first forty-five minutes at the earliest, or from the start of the second act on the strike on the post of Lees-Melou (48th) at the latest. FCN had gotten used to racing in the lead in recent weeks without being able to make the break.
There, against the Aiglons, the Canaries engaged in a handicap race (0-2 after 29 minutes of play) impossible. Finally not that impossible because after the reduction of the gap of Touré (32nd), the men of Kombouaré multiplied the assaults on the Riviera cage, especially in the second half. They nevertheless encountered a good Benitez (recovery from Pallois in the 74th, center-shot from Traoré in the 78th or violent strike from Blas 86th) or simply lacked lucidity and “accuracy in the last pass”, according to Kombouaré, like on this missed half-volley from Louza (33rd) and especially this elusive right side shot from Corchia… while the people of Nantes were absolutely alone at the penalty spot!
An unbelievably feverish start to the match
“It was an overwhelming but sterile domination in the second half, regretted Antoine Kombouaré. We lack efficiency, success etc. The game we have shown is not that of a team which is 19th, but if you do not score when you have situations, it becomes complicated. We had a lot of situations, but the damage was done before. Nice had done the essentials in the first half. “By taking full advantage of a lack of aggressiveness and a great passivity of Nantes from the start of the meeting …
“It’s a huge disappointment, recognized Antoine Kombouaré. We took a hit on the head. The FCN, which has not won on its turf since October 18, that is to say fourteen matches in the league, sinks a little deeper into the crisis before going to its neighbor in Rennes on Sunday and then hosting Lyon in two weeks.
Abdoulaye Touré, for his part, brings out the good old record of circumstances in this kind of situation: “To move forward, we have to tell each other the truths, pull all in the same direction and remain united. It’s true, we are at an impasse, but there are still games, and as long as there is life, there is hope. A last formula generally adopted in desperate situations.
Pallois-Kombouaré altercation after the match
After attacking his players in the locker room after the defeat, Nantes coach Antoine Kombouaré had an altercation with central defender Nicolas Pallois according to 20 minutes. Angry, the Kanak kicked a bag. The Nantes defender asked him to calm down. The technician then urged his player in improper terms not to speak… Kombouaré and Pallois, who were physically intimidating each other, were calmed down by Abdoulaye Touré.