A draw and a defeat. Both traveling, Red Star and Versailles had a difficult evening on the 27th day of the National this Friday evening.
What you must remember
Habib Beye, the coach of
Red Star
, was right to be wary of this trip to the red lantern Cholet, almost already condemned to relegation to National 2 and who came very close to inflicting a big snub on the undisputed leader of the National . Cholet in fact led until the 82nd minute and the equalizer on a penalty from Hacène Benali (1-1, 82nd). But the Red Star also lacked success by hitting the uprights three times on attempts by Ryad Hachem (22nd), Benali (85th) and Rayane Doucouré (90th + 2). With the defeat of 3rd, Martigues, at Châteauroux (1-0), the Audon club nevertheless increases its lead with now 10 points over Martégaux. Niort, his runner-up, plays this Monday against Orléans, before coming to Bauer on Friday April 5 for the clash of the next day.
Undefeated since his arrival on the bench at
Versailles
(2 wins, 2 draws), Jean-Luc Vasseur lost for the first time at Marignane-Gignac. His team may regret not having been able to build on their good first period. If Sébastien Renot made numerous saves, he had to bow to the beautiful sequence of the former attacker from Fleury and… Versailles, Bissourou Touré, who had participated in the magnificent 2021-2022 season (semi-final of the Coupe of France and rise to National). During added time, another player who passed through the Paris region, Diawoye Diarra (ex UJA, Paris FC, Entente SSG) destroyed the last hopes of Versailles. He consolidates his position as the National's top scorer with his 14th goal.
Also read “I don’t care what others think of me”: Jean-Luc Vasseur just wants to save Versailles
In the ranking, it is a very bad operation for Versailles which now finds itself ahead of Marignane. If Villefranche wins this Saturday against Sochaux, the Yvelines club would fall into the red zone…
The player: Hacène Benali (Red Star)
Even if he is mainly used as a joker (only 7 starts in 22 matches), Hacène Benali is Red Star's top scorer. The 24-year-old striker, 3rd season at the club, scored his 9th goal this season by equalizing on a penalty at Cholet (1-1). He could even have scored a double but his shot found the post (85th).
@RedStarFC equalizes on penalty! Hacene Benali
Follow the match live on https://t.co/xUfX5btFzv #NationalFFF#FFFTV pic.twitter.com/BhLrxZCDJo
— National Championship (@NationalFFF) March 29, 2024
The number: 1, 4
The average points over the last five matches (one win and 4 draws) for Red Star is its lowest since the start of the season. The leader advances in slow motion before his shock against Niort.
Match sheets
CHOLET – RED STAR: 1-1 (0-0).
Goals.
Cholet: Jarju (49th sp); Red Star: Benali (82nd sp).
Red Star:
Beunardeau - Gozzi, Kouagba (cap.), R. Doucouré - K. Cissé (F. Doucouré, 77th) Slimani (Fall, 58th) R. Hachem, Botella (Ikanga, 58th) - Ifnaoui - Benali, Ndoye ( cap.). Enter. :Beye.
MARIGNANE-GIGNAC - VERSAILLES 2-0 (0-0).
Goals.
B. Touré (69th), D. Diarra (90th + 4).
Versailles
: Renot - Leborgne, Jaques, Akueson (cap.), Diakhaby - Karamoko (Duku, 13th), Basque, Mendes - Bangoura, Prunier (Lens, 73rd), Hend (Mbala, 73rd). Enter. : Vasseur.