Wheelchair soccer: an encouraging start to the season at home for Les Verts

For their fourth consecutive season at the highest level of the sport, the players of the ASSE Cœur-Vert AÉSIO Mutuelle team made their home debut on the first weekend of the championship. It was an intense and promising weekend, ending with 7 points on the board.

To kick things off, Saint-Étienne hosted Villeneuve d'Ascq, the reigning French champions. Facing a very strong team, Les Verts were defeated 0-2, despite a more committed and determined second half.

The second game took on the feel of a derby against Lyon. Both teams displayed strong offensive intensity, creating numerous chances. At the end of a fast-paced and hard-fought match, the two teams left the field with a 1-1 draw.

The third match against Kerpape saw Les Verts secure their first victory of the season. Full of confidence, Jonathan Détrier and his teammates found the right attacking combinations and made the difference as a team. The result was a convincing 4-1 victory, rounding off Saturday's action perfectly.

The last match of the weekend was played on Sunday morning against Montpellier. Buoyed by the positive momentum from the previous day, Saint-Étienne delivered a polished and controlled team performance, securing another clear 4-0 victory.

Encouraged by members of the management team and numerous supporters in attendance, Les Verts ended their first weekend of the championship with 7 points.

An encouraging balance sheet, in line with the objectives set for the season, as Jonathan Détrier points out: "Obviously, we would have preferred to come away with 9 points rather than 7. But we remain on track to achieve our objectives. These were our first games together, with the arrival of new players this season. Even though the team worked well together this weekend, there is still room for improvement. We will gradually build up our automatic responses through training and the next few league games."

Les Verts will now travel to Montpellier on February 7 for the next league match. On this occasion, they will face the weekend's host team, Montpellier, as well as two other teams from the league, Châtenay-Malabry and Nanterre. This will be important away game sthat will allow Saint-Étienne to continue their rise and confirm the promising foundations laid during this successful start to the season.

Weekend results: 
Saturday, December 13:
9 a.m.: ASSE 0-2 Villeneuve d'Ascq
3 p.m.: ASSE 1-1 Lyon
6 p.m.: ASSE 4-1 Kerpape

Sunday, December 14:
11 a.m.: ASSE 4-0 Montpellier