Saturday 31st July 2010
French League Cup 1st Round
Stade de la Liberation, Boulogne-sur-Mer
Admission: €3.00
Programme: N/A
Attendance: 3335
Match Rating: 4
Having grown impatient on a diet of pre-season friendlies, I decided to go out of the country today to seek a competitive game, whilst also taking advantage of a rare opportunity to watch Union Sportive Boulogne Cote d'Opale (to give the team their full name) on a day-trip. Their usual evening kick-off times make it impossible on foot, but today's game kicked off at 3pm thanks to the game being televised.
Getting to Boulogne without a car these days is nowhere near as straightforward as it used to be, with the only ferry service currently serving Boulogne not carryting foot passengers, and only P&O Ferries accepting them on their Dover-Calais service. Having arrived in Calais at 1pm local time, I embarked on the 20 minute walk to Calais-Ville train station, from which I caught a train to Boulogne, taking about half an hour. This would normally cost €15.40, however fortunately there was a special promotion in operation today where I could buy a discount annual railcard for €5 and the return ticket to Boulogne for one further euro.
Boulogne's home stadium, the Stade de la Liberation, is located about a 15 minute uphill walk from either Boulogne Tintilleries or Boulogne Ville train stations, however ample time should certainly be spared to explore the town centre en route, with its many terrace cafes, and at the top of a steep hill away from the centre, the walled old town, a delightful area full of historic buildings and yet more cafes. Entrance for this game was just €3, and having bought my ticket in advance online, all I had to do was show my printed off ticket to be scanned at the gate. As is usually the case in France, no programmes were produced. The Stade de la Liberation is quite a bizarre hotchpotch of stands, with no fewer than seven stands. There are fairly large permanent covered stands along both lengths and behind one of the goals, with small temporary stands either side of one of the main stands, one covered, one not, with a further uncovered temporary stand quite some distance behind the other goal. There is a running track surrounding the pitch, however some of the stands are erected over it.
This match was in the opening round of the league cup, interestingly played before the league season starts next weekend, with this round being contested by second (Ligue 2) and third (National) division clubs. Both of today's teams play in Ligue 2. Boulogne have just been relegated after a one season stay in top flight, though it was quite a remarkable achievement to have played in Ligue 1 for the first time in their history. Nantes are one of the most successful teams in France, having won the last of their 8 Ligue 1 titles in 2001 and lifting the French Cup two years in succession at the turn of the millennium. Recent years have not been so successful for Nantes however, who seem to have settled into Ligue 2 mid-table obscurity following financial troubles.
On a relatively miserable July day - damp, muggy and misty - this was quite a typical Continental game that was dull, pedestrian and uninspired until the deadlock was broken. Unfortunately for entertainment value, this did not occur until the 71st minute when Nantes took the lead against the run of play. However, Boulogne deservedly got back on level terms on 79 minutes, and for the remainder of the 90 minutes, they piled on the pressure and had some wonderful chances to win the game, although Nantes really should have gained victory they would not have deserved when a poor backpass allowed a Nantes forward to nip the ball away from the keeper wide of the goal, but with his fellow striker waiting in the 6 yard box waiting for a tap into an open goal, he inexplicably shot wide from a narrow angle.
So the game entered extra time, and with the game having opened up with both teams creating good chances, particularly Boulogne, Nantes again retook the lead, again against the run of play. Credit to Boulogne, they did not allow unluckily falling behind again to deflate them, and just as it was beginning to look like time might run out for Boulogne, they were awarded a penalty for handball by the assistant referee behind the goal (5 officials were used in this game), which Gregory Thil emphatically scored for his second of the game on 112 minutes. After this the game petered out, with both sides probably more afraid of losing than wanting to push for a winner, and so the match went to penalties. Nantes missed their second and third penalties, whereas Boulogne scored all four of theirs, to earn a well deserved passage into the second round.
No comments:
Post a Comment