We had to go back to March 2009 to find the trace of a victory for Havre Athletic Club (HAC) in the elite of the French championship. Long seasons in Ligue 2 and a return to Ligue 1 later, the Ciels and Marines put an end to this wait of more than fourteen years. Luka Elsner’s players beat FC Lorient (3-0), Sunday, September 3, during the fourth day of L1.
At the Océane stadium, the victory of the Normans took shape in the second half. Russian Daler Kouziaev, recruited this summer from Zénith Saint-Petersburg, opened the scoring after a one-two with Loïc Nego (1-0, 53rd). After a breakthrough from Antoine Joujou, Nabil Alioui adjusted the Lorient goalkeeper from the entrance to the surface of the area (2-0, 70th). Finally, Nolan Mbemba sealed the score thanks to a deflected shot by an opposing defender (3-0, 96th). This is the first defeat for the Merlus this season.
Three days after a difficult qualification for the group stages of the Europa League Conference against the modest Croats of Rijeka, Lille experienced some scares against Montpellier. Following Yusuf Yazici’s quick opener (1-0, 2nd) with a powerful free kick, Paulo Fonseca’s men multiplied their chances, without managing to bend the game. And came close to being punished at the end of the match by Nordin (90th), whose goal was canceled for an offside. The only realization of the meeting is finally enough for the happiness of the Mastiffs.
“There is a soul in this team”
On the move on the lawn of a promoted, FC Metz, Stade de Reims had to share the points (2-2), despite a new goal from Teddy Teuma, already author of a double in the victory in Montpellier ( 3-1) last week. Each team raced in the lead during this lively encounter in terms of chances and beautiful goals.
At the start of the afternoon, Toulouse FC and Clermont parted ways in a draw (2-2). The Toulousains started the meeting on the hats of wheels by opening the scoring in the 8th minute with Zakaria Aboukhlal. The new recruit, Frank Magri, quickly doubled the bet (2-0, 14th).
Clermont then reduced the mark (2-1, 34th) thanks to a penalty converted by Grejohn Kyei. In the second half, the Auvergnats pushed to equalize and it was Florent Ogier, on the lookout for a free kick from Johan Gastien, who snatched the equalizer after additional time (2-2, 96th). “We don’t give up and that proves that there is a soul in this team,” said Clermont club coach Pascal Gastien at the end of the match.
In the standings, AS Monaco – 3-0 winners of Lens on Saturday evening – are guaranteed to remain leaders at the end of the fourth day. At the bottom of the table, three teams bring up the rear with only one point: Clermont, RC Lens and Olympique Lyonnais, who host Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday from 8:45 p.m.
