The Greens lose in Bastia

Context

A week after their convincing 2-1 victory over Dunkerque and having extended their unbeaten streak to nine matches (7 wins, 2 draws), Gautier Larsonneur and his teammates travel to Bastia to face a Sporting side in serious trouble. A win at Armand-Cesari would be welcome to keep pace with Troyes (1st) and Le Mans (3rd), who won earlier this afternoon and last night, respectively.

Starting XI

Same lineup, same game plan! Against Bastia, Philippe Montanier has opted to stick with the same players and the 4-4-2 formation that defeated Dunkerque. Notably, Aïmen Moueffek returns to midfield in that advanced role where he proved so valuable.

Game scenario

The Greens were caught off guard right from the start! As soon as the ball dropped in midfield, Zaouai burst forward and unleashed a shot that caught Gautier Larsonneur off guard (1-0, 1st min). After that shaky opening minute, the Saint-Étienne players quickly regained their composure. Augustine Boakye unleashed a thunderous shot (6th) and Lucas Stassin tried his luck three times (7th, 11th, 13th), but Olmeta was there to make the saves. Despite slight dominance, they failed to create any clear-cut chances, and the Corsicans set a false rhythm that worked in their favor. It wasn’t until the final ten minutes that ASSE had a shot on goal, a very good effort by Lucas Stassin (37th). Benoît Millot blew the whistle to end the first half.

The second half began with a perfect save by Kevin Pedro, who stopped Zaouai (48th), a move replicated a few minutes later by Julien Le Cardinal against the same Zaouai (56th). Aïmen Moueffek received the ball with his back to the goal in the penalty area near the penalty spot but was unable to turn (59th). For Sporting, Tomi rattled the outside of the net (60th), and shortly after, Joshua Duffus sent a low cross to Lucas Stassin, who sent his shot wide (61st). The British-Jamaican forward then tried his luck directly, but his superb strike landed just behind the crossbar (67'). Still playing at a slow pace, the game heated up when Eickmayer doubled Sporting’s lead (2-0, 71'). On a free kick, Bastia nearly scored an own goal, but the crossbar came to Olmeta's rescue (72')! The Bastia goalkeeper then saw Zuriko Davitashvili's shot graze his right post (83').

Coming next

Defeated by a Bastia side that went all out and managed to hold on, the Greens suffered their first loss in ten matches. They remain in second place (57 points) but are now level on points with Le Mans (3rd, 57 points). They’ll have to step up their game next Saturday against the league-leading Troyes in front of more than 38,000 Saint-Étienne fans who are eager to bring the Cauldron to a boil to get closer to their goal.