Jean-Louis Gasset: "We waged battle"

What do you think about the characteristics of this match?

We knew before the match that Nîmes was going to push to keep us close to our net. We scored the first goal of the game very early and, at key moments, we could have or should have scored the second goal that would have given us a bit more drive. At 1-0, Nîmes was still in the match at half-time. We knew that they were going to push us back and that the public would be behind them. My only regret is that we weren’t able to score a second goal.

What did your team lack in order to have done better?

They lacked a bit of efficiency but the hardest thing in Football is scoring. For their part, Nîmes used long balls in order to push us back but technically, as soon as we made three passes to get the ball away from our net, we managed to put ourselves in their half of the field and put them in a difficult position. What I retain is our state of mind. Today, we were offered a battle and we waged battle. We refused to give up, the players respected what I asked.

Is the tie a positive outcome in your opinion?

At the end of the match, both teams went on the offensive in order to win. Every time that Nîmes attacked, I said to myself that a tie would be a positive outcome and that every time that we had the ball, I saw us winning the match at the last second. In the end, we took one point as an away team. With one point, we don’t advance much but we’re reassured, especially in regards of our state of mind.

Did the duo of Cabella and Khazri please you?

I found Rémy Cabella excellent. He scored, made nice passes. That’s how we want to see them both play. We’re on the right path.