Many opportunities but no goal

Context

After a week's break for the winter break, Les Verts return to Ligue 2 BKT with a clash at the top of the table. Fourth in the league and level on points with Saint-Étienne (3rd, 30 points), the newly promoted Le Mans side has been the sensation of the first half of the season with an unbeaten run stretching back 15 games.

Starting XI

Eirik Horneland keeps Mickaël Nadé and Kevin Pedro in central defense, flanked by Dennis Appiah on the right and Ben Old on the left. In midfield, Florian Tardieu is joined by Paul Eymard and Igor Miladinovic, while Nadir El Jamali, Lucas Stassin, and Zuriko Davitashvili make up the attacking line.

Le match

In a packed Marie-Marvingt stadium, where the atmosphere was as heated as the weather was cold, the first clear chances were slow to come between two well-organized teams. As the 10th minute approached, it was Les Verts who made the first move. After a well-defended corner, they pushed forward and Nadir El Jamali passed to Lucas Stassin, whose shot went wide (8th).  Shortly afterwards, Gautier Larsonneur made his first save to catch a cross from Le Mans' right wing (9th minute) before Kevin Pedro blocked a shot from Quarshie (10th minute). The tempo then slowed down, with the players clearly hampered by the frozen pitch. Lucas Stassin tried to warm up the atmosphere, but his shot failed to find Kocik's top corner (27'). Le Mans came close to opening the scoring, but Gautier Larsonneur's hand deflected Robin's shot for a corner (32'). Zuriko Davitashvili responded immediately with a shot that Kocik saved despite its deflection (35'). Les Verts went into the break with a slight advantage but with the score still tied at zero.

The second half began without any period of observation, and chances came thick and fast for both teams. It started with a move by the Loire side, initiated by Gautier Larsonneur and finished with a shot by Zuriko Davitashvili, which was unfortunately blocked (48th minute), followed by two responses from Le Mans by Quarshie (50th minute) and Rabillard (53rd minute), which were saved by the ASSE captain.  Le Mans pressed again, this time from a corner, but Yohou's header flew wide of Gautier Larsonneur's right-hand post (55'). Saint-Étienne's Lucas Stassin (56'), Nadir El Jamali (57', 60') and Florian Tardieu (59') also tried their luck without success. After this strong spell from Saint-Étienne, Gueye came close to dampening the Green's enthusiasm, but his shot went over the bar (67th minute), as did Rabillard's header (68th minute). Both teams were less vocal after those 25 minutes, but Le Mans created danger in the last ten minutes with a dangerous cross and then a shot from Laurey (84'). The final chance fell to Irvin Cardona, who volleyed a long pass from Aïmen Moueffek, but unfortunately the ball went wide. le cadre. 

Coming next 

Held to a draw by Sarthois (0-0), Les Verts drop one place in the standings. Currently fourth in Ligue 2, they will stay in rhythm with a warm-up match against AJ Auxerre next Saturday, before returning to league action with a home game against Clermont on Saturday, January 17 (8:55 p.m.).