League

Geoffroy Guichard
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) Yves Arnal made the kick off and thus started the match. Amine Nagel scored 0-1 in the 3rd match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Sofyane Canova, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Yves Arnal in the 6th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Cyrille Arnault saved Arsenal FC from getting behind. Roger Chaillot's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Sofyane Canova read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 7th minute of play. Sofyane Canova made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Youri Bénezet in the 9th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Amine Nagel in the 10th minute of play forced AS Saint-Étienne's goalkeeper Sofyane Canova to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. When Yves Arnal fell near the penalty area in the 16th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored AS Saint-Étienne's protests and gave Yves Arnal a yellow card for diving instead. After 16 played minutes AS Saint-Étienne got a freekick which was hit by Yves Arnal. In the 21stth minute of the game Amine Nagel who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but AS Saint-Étienne's Sofyane Canova was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. A collision led to Arsenal FC getting a freekick after 24 minutes play. Gilbert Landemaine hit a great ball. Gildas Bonvalet was astounded when the referee showed him the red card after a seemingly innocent challenge, 25 minutes into the match. 1-1 came through a penalty shot after 28 played minutes, when AS Saint-Étienne:s Bacary Sarrat calmly waited for Arsenal FC:s goalkeeper to move before he rolled in the ball by the right post. 31 minutes into the match, Arsenal FC's goal looked a bit too open when Yves Arnal came free, but Cyrille Arnault reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Sofyane Canova stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Amine Nagel's shot from short distance in the 32nd minute. The audience was convinced that Amine Nagel's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Sofyane Canova was relentless in the 34th minute of the game. Amine Nagel scored 1-2 in the 37th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Sofyane Canova, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Cyrille Arnault showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Yves Arnal, who was totally free with the ball in the 41st minute. In the 42ndth minute of the game Amine Nagel who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but AS Saint-Étienne's Sofyane Canova was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. A collision led to Arsenal FC getting a freekick after 45 minutes play. Gilbert Landemaine hit a great ball. Cyrille Arnault made a fantastic save in the 47th minute, when Melvin Blais sent off a good shot on target. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 1-2 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Amine Nagel was the one to do the kick off. When the match clock showed 52 minutes, the score became 1-3 when Amine Nagel sped through AS Saint-Étienne's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Sofyane Canova. Amine Nagel fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 55th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Sofyane Canova having to interfere. Cyrille Arnault made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Aymerick Zajac in the 59th minute of play. In the 60th minute the ball was on its way in behind AS Saint-Étienne's goalkeeper Sofyane Canova, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Cyrille Arnault took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Aymerick Zajac, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 63rd minute, Yves Arnal ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Cyrille Arnault was frozen by the shot and now it was 2-3. The supporters of Arsenal FC booed when AS Saint-Étienne was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 67 match minutes in a wonderful position. Josselin Rautureau didn't get a good kick on the ball. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Amine Nagel in the 69th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Sofyane Canova saved AS Saint-Étienne from getting behind. 70 minutes into the match, Arsenal FC's goal looked a bit too open when Sébastian Dabin came free, but Cyrille Arnault reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. The supporters of Arsenal FC booed when AS Saint-Étienne was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 76 match minutes in a wonderful position. Sébastian Dabin didn't get a good kick on the ball. AS Saint-Étienne's goalkeeper couldn't reach when Amine Nagel 77 minutes into the game got a good kick on the ball which found its way into goal just inside left pole. 2-4. Amine Nagel might have been able to make a better finish in the 80th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Sofyane Canova. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Amine Nagel ran back to his position shaking his head. Thanks to some nice moves Amine Nagel could shoot a difficult shot in the 80th minute, which Sofyane Canova however easily saved by the left post. Cyrille Arnault showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Aymerick Zajac in the 84th minute of the match. In the 85th minute, Sébastian Dabin left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The AS Saint-Étienne fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 3-4. Youri Bénezet fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 92nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Sofyane Canova having to interfere. The AS Saint-Étienne fans had already started to leave before the final whistle blew. Arsenal FC were clearly better and deserved to take the win.