Bastia – Valenciennes 1-0 (0-0)
Armand Cesari Stadium
Referee: L’Epaisant Benjamin
Target: Drama 78′
Warnings: Ndiaye 40′, Alfarela 87′ for Bastia. Capa 53′, Linguet 87′ for Valenciennes
SC Bastia: Placid Tavares, Senati, Ndiaye, Drama, Van den Kerkhove, Doukrok (Talal 86′), Salis Lamong (Roncaglia 81′), Shore (Vincent 67′), Varela, Santili (Djoko 67′)
VAFC. Larsonneur, Linguet, Debuchy, Buatu, Lecoeuche, Kaba, Diliberto, Hamache (Zinga 81′ and then Rabuel 87′), Picouleau (Nomel 81), Boutaou (Berthomier 62′), Noubissi (Bonnet 61′)
Regis Broward’s men who remained in victory over Caen for the post-World Cup restart, a victory hijacked at the last moments in favor of the Torchini. After a match behind closed doors, the Blues found their fans on Saturday evening, to face fifth in the championship, North Valenciennes. If VAFC is undefeated at home, the music is not the same, for turchini it was a perfect opportunity to improve on the last victory and make a good coup in the standings.
The start of the match is slow, the two teams gradually try to delay the match by depositing the first gangs, but without much danger. We had to wait until the ninth minute to see the biggest move, Varela took the field a full stride before relying on Salis LeMonge who with a great hole found Van Den Kerkhof near the surface, but Bastia’s piston, making a right-handed Gesture Control sequence strike, snagged Gautier Larsonneur. The Blues restricted the moves, on the 70-meter counter led by Tavares and Van den Kerkhove, Cape Verde dispatched Vdk in sixteen metres, but the latter saw Linguet block his shot with a sliding putt. In the ensuing movement, Alvarella showed his quick rush on a long ball, entering the penalty area before crossing his shot, but unfortunately for the Portuguese striker, his attempt fell short by a few centimeters. The Blues kept pushing and doubling down on tries, but the Valencia goalkeeper was in limbo. At halftime, the two teams parted on a tie score, despite Bastia’s clear dominance and a first period in which the Blues had some regrets.
Drama releases Armand Cesari
In the second half, the visitors recovered somewhat from the hair of the beast against a still defiant bird in the last 30 meters despite their good intentions. Varela and his family kept pressing against the cages, but to no avail. Regis Broward’s men insisted on this second win in a row. The rescue came from a dramatic Icer, from the top of 97 metres, the great defender from Bastia caught Gauthier Larsonneur and Fiorani tipped over to open the scoring, an opener that more than rewarded the Corsicans’ efforts. The Blues clung to their victory and defended fully before being fired on by the three whistles of Benjamin Lepaisant who did the greatest good to Regis Broward and his mates.
The Torchini sealed Furiani’s second straight win, back in 11th, tied on points with 7 and three small points out of the top 5. After a mediocre performance against Caen, the Blues dominated their theme on Friday night and logically took the three points after a successful performance. The Blues finish the year high scoring with two straight wins. Next meeting in 2023 with the Coupe de France on the list and a trip to Evreux, which is resident at National 2.
