|
Troubled Nantes brought a run of three straight defeats to an end this afternoon, but had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to a spirited Saint-Etienne side.
They were met with boos at the final whistle, though the signs from this game are that Serge le Dizet's charges, who began the day three points above the bottom three, have both the ability and hunger to steer themselves away from anger.
That is scant consolation for Canaris fans, however, particularly after such a convincing start to the season. And this fixture itself – between two of the most successful teams in French football history – will have done nothing but bring into focus how far the club have fallen in recent years.
All such concerns seemed a million miles away after just three minutes, though, when Romanian forward Claudiu Keseru gave the hosts the best possible start from an opportunistic counter-attack.
France reserve goalkeeper Mickaël Landreau caught the ball from an early Saint-Etienne corner and immediately set Mamadou Diallo free down the middle. The Mali ace raced away and picked out his strike partner, who calmly chipped the ball over the onrushing Verts custodian Jérémie Janot.
Keseru had not been expected to start after returning from international duty with a shoulder injury, but his finish gave another glimpse of the instinctive play that has made him such a favourite at the Stade de la Beaujoire.
The same supporters who were chanting his name were soon left speechless, however, as Saint-Etienne quickly hit back from a corner on 10 minutes. Sébastien Mazure was the catalyst, in a rare start due to Pascal Feindouno's injury, but it was unfortunate Nantes defender Nicolas Savinaud who applied the finishing touch after he headed past Landreau under intense pressure from the former Caen predator.
That explosive start set up what rapidly became a very open, entertaining skirmish, with both teams believing they could go on to snatch all three points. And it was Nantes who next came closest to scoring when Diallo met a corner with a near-post header only for Janot to pull off a reflex save with his legs.
The hosts then thought they had two legitimate penalty appeals turned down – first when Didier Zokora seemed to handle in the area and then when Imed Mhadhbi collapsed under Fousseni Diawara's challenge – but television replays showed both to have been decisions.
Despite the pressure, Les Verts continued to create danger at the other end and Mazure almost made the difference a second time when his rasping shot just grazed the outside of the post with Landreau beaten.
He and Piquionne were combining well in their first outing together and, as Nantes wasted too much possession in midfield after the break, Elie Baup's side looked most likely to take the lead.
David Hellebuyck almost did exactly that with a fierce effort from the edge of the area which Landreau did spectacularly well to turn out for a corner on 65 minutes.
That fright seemed to wake the hosts up again and they finished the encounter the strongest, yet were unable to punish a strong Saint-Etienne defence that has been impressive all season.
Jérémy Toulalan fired wide in stoppage time and his miss summed up the afternoon for Le Dizet and his much-criticised troops, who must find a killer instinct going forward in the coming months. Saint-Etienne will be well pleased with their point, on the other hand, as it keeps them in fourth ahead of the rest of the weekend's action.
|
