Championnat Régional 1 (Hauts de France), Groupe B
Stade Gaston Bonnet, Saint-Omer
Admission: €5.00
Programme: None
Attendance: 400 (estimate)
I was mainly inspired to make a swift return visit to northern France today by the excellent deal currently being offered by P&O Ferries, for a car day trip from Dover to Calais, with 6 bottles of wine thrown in for £27. Not fancying a drive too far into France, I contented myself with a 30 mile drive inland, for this game in the sixth tier of French football, between two clubs right in the mix to win the league and claim the one automatic promotion berth available.
The Stade Gaston Bonnet is located just to the south west of the town centre, and is part of quite a large sporting complex consisting of various sporting pitches and other facilities, and to enter the football ground, it is necessary to buy a ticket from an outer window of the brick clubhouse building adjacent to the entrance gate. The clubhouse can be accessed immediately to the left of the entrance, with a small bar area and no seating available. To the right of the entrance, and straddling the half way line, is an all-seater stand, offering decent unobstructed views of the action, unless one sits close to the one side wall. There is just hard standing on brick type gravel around the rest of the pitch, which stretches some way back, with a slight incline back from a step. Looking opposite the stand, a steep bank provides the background to two thirds of the length, whilst behind the stand, the town's cathedral and town hall are both visible. A large but basic electronic scoreboard is situated in one corner. Not surprisingly in France, and particularly at this level, no programmes were produced, nor were team sheets made available, although the club has produced programmes in the past
With three games left to play, just two points separate the top three clubs, two of who would meet here today. Saint Omer led the table, having won 15 and drawn five of their 23 league games, whilst Hazebrouck were two points behind, in third place, having won 15 and drawn three of their 23 league games. So there was a lot to play for here, all the more so as the club in second place, Stade Portelois, one point behind Saint Omer and one point ahead of Hazebrouck, were at home to second bottom Gamaches AS today. When these two teams met in late March, Saint Omer won 0-1.
Unfortunately the weather was not particularly kind today, as light drizzle greeted my arrival in Calais and it would barely stop for the rest of the day. And perhaps unsurprisingly for a match with much at stake, the first half was a cagey affair, with the opening half hour in particular devoid of real goalscoring opportunities. St Omer then created three decent chances, a firm header from a cross going just wide on 36 minutes, a minute later following a quick break a shot from the edge of the area was reflected just wide, and from the resultant corner, a goal bound header was blocked by a defender. But the scoreline would remain goalless at the break.
After barely threatening in the first half, the visitors were much stronger after the break, and within a minute of the restart, a drilled low cross from the right just evaded a tap in at the far post. But on 49 minutes, Hazebrouck did take the lead, when a low cross from the right by Thomas Fontaine was deflected goalwards off defender Deforter, and wrong footed, the keeper Vandionant couldn't quite keep the ball out. St Omer certainly had their chances to rescue a point. On 61 minutes, a ball swirled in from the right dropped on the top of the crossbar, while they thought they had equalised on 73 minutes, when a free kick just outside the outer corner of the penalty area was dinked in and Hoguet powerfully headed the ball into the net, but the linesman had raised his flag for offside. It is fair to say the home team were not happy with the decision, and their coach got sent from the dugout for protesting too vociferously. On 82 minutes, St Omer saw a loose ball drilled from the edge of the area go just wide, whilst Hazebrouck came close to a second on 84 minutes, when their player danced through the St Omer midfield far too easily, and his eventual low shot hit the outside of the post. St Omer did try to throw everything at getting an equaliser, sending the keeper up for the last couple of set pieces, and six minutes of added on time certainly gave them hope, but it was not to be, and the disappointment amongst the St Omer players, staff and supporters certainly reflected the gravity of the defeat here in their quest for the title and the sole guaranteed promotion berth.
With Stade Portelois unsurprisingly winning their match today, they rise to the top of the table, and with two games left to play, the title is surely now theirs to lose, although they do close the season with two away games. Hazebrouck rose to second, a point adrift, and a point ahead of St Omer, who have gone from looking favourites at the start of this game, now look rank outsiders to win the division.
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