Jean-Louis Gasset: «A match that we were supposed to win»
Like in Nice, the Stéphanois coach regrets that his team wasn’t rewarded for their efforts during this match.
What was your state of mind after the match?
It’s a huge disappointment because, if it was a boxing fight, we would have won with points. We had openings to score, we dominated the game. We did everything that we could despite some poor technique, especially when we crossed the ball. I’m disappointed because overall my players are above reproach, the more experienced players and the youths as well who performed well considering when they got into the pitch.
Do the players feel strongly affected by this elimination?
They’re very disappointed as well because they thought they had everything well in hand. It’s a match that we were supposed to win. We’ll debrief together tomorrow. I’m disappointed most of all for the youths. When you consider our state of mind, we deserved better than a defeat at the end of our last two matches. In Nice, it was frustrating. Today, we were supposed to qualify. Unfortunately, we didn’t carry the day and that’s upsetting.
Are you worried?
The most important match of the week is still the one against Caen. I don’t have to be worried at all. When I consider this match and the extra-time, I’m happy to have left certain players in Saint-Etienne. With 120 additional minutes, I would have been worried for my team. When I saw the match schedule, 5 matches in 14 days, I made this decision. It was a calculated decision on my part because the championship remains the priority. Even with a reorganized team, some young players, I think that we performed as we had to. In light of the number of openings we had and our ball possession, it’s a match that we should have won.
