At the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium,
Two matches, two atmospheres. Less than three weeks after offering a dantesque spectacle in a high-flying derby (1-1), the Chaudron became cold and gloomy on Friday, for a very tense ASSE-Angers. The slap suffered by the Greens (20th in Ligue 1) in Strasbourg (5-1) between these two meetings has indeed resulted in a rift between the club, especially its manager Claude Puel, and the main groups of supporters. And despite a half-empty Geoffroy-Guichard stadium (19,836 spectators), this ASSE-Angers smelled of sulfur. “We have discussed enough, you make us crack! », Launched a banner brandished by the two Saint-Etienne kops at 8:50 pm.
Okay, this match #ASSEASCO is not about to start … @20 minutes pic.twitter.com/IUcOmMBWFP
– Jérémy Laugier (@JeremyLaugier) October 22, 2021
Six minutes later, when the players entered the lawn, the pun of the ultras groups’ message made sense, since dozens of smoke bombs were gone all over the place, on the side of the south kop and especially in the north. A hundred CRS, in the starting blocks in view of the sports crisis in Sainté, immediately tumbled to the edge of the field. When the thick smoke caused by the fumigants cleared, around 9 p.m., it was naively thought that the kick-off would follow. But there, in addition to a necessary cleaning of certain areas of the lawn burned by these projectiles, the old-fashioned way with brooms and buckets of water, we were treated to an unforeseen event in Ligue 1.
“We don’t want to be the laughing stock of the whole of France anymore”
Some ultras had descended on the lawn with their smoke in order to attack the nets of Stefan Bajic’s goal, with holes in different places. A problem a priori minor, but which still resulted in a postponement of the kick-off … of an hour, the time for a few employees to tinker with the whole thing with clamps. How did Magic Fans and Green Angels, familiar with advanced pyrotechnic events, come to create such a deleterious atmosphere during the evening?
Two press releases Unveiled Friday evening by the groups of supporters listed the reasons for this operation accompanied by low parts of the kops deserted during the warm-up, and encouragement strike, “a heartbreaking decision”. Accompanied from the pre-game by a banner “Puel, leaders, players, all responsible for this chaos”, the Magic Fans specify their action.
Since the start of the season, we have not stopped encouraging the Greens and talking with a team bordering on ridicule. Today, it is too much. We do not want to be more the laughing stock of the whole of France, and we intend to make it understood to the players, to the leaders, but also and especially to M.Puel ”.
“Not the heart to sing for people taking us for fools”
Targeted throughout the meeting by ultras considering themselves “at the end of their nerves”, the former coach of OL crystallizes the divide between this ASSE and “the green people”. “We will not be hosting the platform tonight, until further notice,” the Magic Fans statement continued. We don’t have the heart to sing for people who have taken us for fools for years. “
Logically sent back to the locker room by Antony Gautier, the players from Saint-Etienne had about forty minutes to mull over before the real launch of this opening match of the 11th day of Ligue 1. “Strangely, the atmosphere in the locker room was very serene. that moment, assures Ryad Boudebouz. We stayed focused. “A preparation that did not prevent the Greens from being once again trapped by the Angevin realism of Ismaël Traoré (0-1, 28th) and Angelo Fulgini (0-2, 56th).
Still no first success after 11 matches for ASSE
Sometimes whistled, most often ignored by their own supporters, the Stéphanois were for good in the midst of a nightmare, once the maintenance of the match was recorded, more by the prefect of the Loire Catherine Séguin than by the LFP, according to The team. Like a very clumsy Jean-Philippe Krasso and as if lost in attack, ASSE seemed destined to sink into its lair, as against OGC Nice (0-3) a month earlier. To courage, the indispensable Wahbi Khazri (who scored 6 of the 11 Stéphanois goals of the season) with a master free kick (1-2, 61st) then Mickaël Nadé with a furious head butt in added time (2 -2, 90th +4) managed to soften the end of the evening.
And to provoke an astonishing sequence of schizophrenia in many supporters of the Greens, gone from a small euphoria on the goal of Nadé to whistles always so sharp at the final whistle. What benefits could ultimately have this draw, snatched in the last moments, on a group guaranteed to remain last in the championship this weekend, and still looking for a first success this season? “We are not going to be satisfied with a point at home because we are AS Saint-Etienne and that we owe it to ourselves to be full at home,” says Wahbi Khazri. We are disappointed but we have shown that we have character. Everyone makes the effort, no one cheats. If we want to get out of it, it’s going to go through the balls. “
“We are on a mission”
The Tunisian striker with the currently flowery language is joined in his enthusiasm by his young teammate Lucas Gourna-Douath. “We have a feeling of pride and honor, appreciates the international U19 tricolor environment. We showed mental strength. It was an intense match with a complicated environment and we responded present. We’re on a mission. »Headed by Claude Puel, who is also dithyrambic.
I hold the huge hearts of my players. We have been experiencing a lot of adversity since the start of the season but they are not giving up, they are in unison. They are fully aware of the situation and they give everything to get by. “
However, this team remains very fragile, and with technical limits that prevented it from overcoming a minimalist SCO in the game on Friday. “In view of the situation in which we are, we have to face it, urges Ryad Boudebouz. We are not allowed to give up. The public has been with us since the start of the season. These people are struggling to come to the stadium. We understand their frustration because the club is in danger today. I want to fight for them. It remains to be seen whether reciprocity will be relevant in the coming months.