League Play-Off

Stade Pantin
Spectators: 32 (Terracing: 25, Seating: 7, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Lucien Dehon took the kick off in the first half of the match. The audience was convinced that Lucien Dehon's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Carl Dassonville was relentless in the 3rd minute of the game. Thierry Pate sent away a hard shot on goal in the 4th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 7 minutes into the match, Avignon's goalkeeper Mehdi Longuet had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Philippe Labaune. After 9 played minutes Avignon got a freekick which was hit by Simon Kuhn. When Philippe Labaune came up free with the goalie in the 11th minute, the Pantin fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Philippe Labaune couldn't finish the play. Avignon's Mehdi Longuet played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Marin Cuinet in the 12th minute of play. 13 minutes into the match, Avignon's goal looked a bit too open when Marin Cuinet came free, but Mehdi Longuet reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After 19 played minutes Avignon got a freekick which was hit by Fabian Sautier. Jose Revest was probably a little too eager to shoot when he, in the 20th played minute, shot the ball from way out. The shot was hard, but the ball flew wide of the goal. Mehdi Longuet didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Philippe Labaune went, in the 22nd minute, to the upper right corner, 1-0 was the resulting score. In the 26th minute Marin Cuinet shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Mehdi Longuet saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After 27 minutes, Jose Revest mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Pantin and the Avignon players grew even worse after the yellow card. Thierry Pate fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 30th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Carl Dassonville having to interfere. Lucien Dehon sent away a hard shot on goal in the 32nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Philippe Labaune fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 41st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Mehdi Longuet having to interfere. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 1-0 at half-time.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Marin Cuinet to strike the kick off in the second half. Avignon's Mehdi Longuet played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Marin Cuinet in the 57th minute of play. The audience was convinced that Marin Cuinet's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Mehdi Longuet was relentless in the 58th minute of the game. Avignon's Lucien Dehon got a good chance for a goal in the 62nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Lucien Dehon blasted a shot towards the goal in the 66th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Carl Dassonville having to make a save. Carl Dassonville showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Lucien Dehon, who was totally free with the ball in the 66th minute. A collision led to Avignon getting a freekick after 71 minutes play. Rene Bonvarlet hit a great ball. Mehdi Longuet showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Jean-Marie Laurent in the 76th minute of the match. In the 77th minute, Philippe Labaune left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Pantin fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 2-0. After 82 played minutes Lucien Dehon rounded Pantin's defense and shot a beautiful shot into goal via left pole - 2-1. Thierry Pate fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 89th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Carl Dassonville having to interfere. For all the effort they put into the match, the Avignon players left disappointed. They had fought hard, but couldn't break down the home team's defense. The match ended in a win for Pantin.