“I completely shit my control, so I didn’t have many solutions left! “. The right winger did not lack sincerity when commenting on his masterpiece on Saturday at the microphone of BeIN Sports. Thanks to him, and his brilliant inspiration in the 83rd minute, AS Saint-Étienne achieved a capital success in the fight to stay in Ligue 2.
By winning 3-2 against Annecy at home, the Greens leave the last place in the championship and go back to 18th, one point behind 16th and first non-relegation, Nîmes. “We build victories and a group in difficult times. The moral and mental qualities were essential in this match, in addition to the public who pushed. We savor a victory which, over the whole match, is deserved, ”commented coach Laurent Batlles, reinforced in January by seven recruits, including three starters this Saturday.
From the kick-off, Saint-Étienne and Annecy showed great commitment, each obtaining several good chances during a choppy first quarter of an hour. And it was Annecy who converted first, one of them thanks to their captain Vincent Pajot, after a poor recovery from the Saint-Etienne defense (0-1, 17th). The Greens reacted immediately after a nice deep pass from Niels Nkounkou for Ibrahima Wadji who, well covered by Arnold Temanfo, was able to come alone against Florian Escales to equalize (1-1, 18th).
Better in place, the men of Laurent Battlès obtained the best chances at the end of the first period but were imprecise, taken in an offside position on several occasions. During the second act, the Stéphanois continued to push and took the advantage via the captain for a day, Jean-Philippe Krasso, on a good cross from Mathieu Cafaro (2-1, 49th).
A rebound after two alarming defeats
Annecy managed to get back into the match following a good combination punctuated by Alexy Bosetti (2-2, 65th). But the deliverance for Saint-Étienne, therefore, finally came from the right foot of Mathieu Cafaro, very hard-hitting on his flank, who took over a long ball from Nkounkou at the entrance to the area to mystify Escales.
Very concentrated, the Greens serenely maintained their advantage during the last ten minutes and were able to celebrate this victory with their supporters, relieved after two worrying defeats against Bastia and Sochaux. The next meeting against Dijon, tied on points with Saint-Étienne (21), promises to be essential.