The famous adage “Never two without three” did not go as far as Dunkirk this Saturday for FC Sochaux-Montbéliard. The FCSM did not line up a 3rd victory in a row in 2022 and leaves frustrated by its draw 0 to 0 on the lawn of the penultimate of Ligue 2. Archi dominant, the Yellow and Blue (in white this Saturday) did not manage to concretize their opportunities, in particular in the second half by not taking advantage of the fatigue of the Northerners, while happy to scratch this point after a 5-game losing streak. Omar Daf’s men are, themselves, slowed down and make a bad operation by not beating a poorly ranked.
Mauricio finds the crossbar… and the Dunkirk goalkeeper!
We very quickly forget the first act of absolute boredom, we can hardly bring out Kitala’s lob for Sochaux countered by the northern doorman, and that’s it. Curtain ! The FCSM plays too long and the Maritimes manage to beat him, like of Ousseynou Thioune, technically clumsy. Fortunately, Sochaux decides to accelerate after returning from the locker room, with Weißbeck, clinched very low to steer the entire raise game. We believe Sochaux finally delivered with Mauricio, unfortunately the subtle three-way combination with Weissbeck and Do Couto on a free kick is not rewarded, the shot from the ex-Lensois crashes on the cross (54th)! And what about his uncrossed head which still comes to find the northern goalkeeper on his way (64th)! Infuriating! Dunkirk then sends some chills at the end of the match but it is Sochaux who will spoil their ultimate ammunition with Faraj who sends the ball over on a scramble after a rush from Mauricio, again him, at the very last second of added time.
One point taken, two lost
“I think we hit about 15 times (14 in fact), but when you’re on target so little, it’s difficult to win this kind of match” notes, after the meeting, Omar Daf. The Sochaux coach says “having nothing to reproach my players for, we pushed to the end, but my bench depth (with only Virginius as a striker) was too tight to be able to go for the victory in the last quarter of an hour”, the FCSM coach, aware “to have lost two points”.
For Valentine Henry, same feeling of frustration “Given the game, we came away frustrated to take only one point, but we were also solid, we were creative, we had chances to score, we lacked realism this time”. And the defender of the Yellow and Blue not to discard when taking stock of the evening “We can’t hide that our ambitions are to go as high as possible, and we are attentive to the points we take or lose, and tonight, it’s lost points, but by putting things in their context, and in the end, this point may be decisive” tries to positive the Sochaux side.
Ranking status quo
In the ranking, Sochaux is treading water, and remains 3rd, 2 lengths behind leader Toulouse, hanging on to Bastia (0-0). But Paris FC, 4th and Auxerre, 5th are two games behind, and one for Ajaccio, 2nd, while FCSM is up to date in its calendar, with the worst goal average of the TOP 5. So many elements which make us bitterly regret these points left en route in the North this Saturday, and which could cause the Yellow and Blue to drop from the podium. The season is certainly still long, but what is taken is no longer to be taken. And if Sochaux wants to stay in the game, it will absolutely have to restart a series of victories from February 5 with the reception of Amiens. The Bonal stadium will be able, on this occasion, to welcome more than 5,000 spectators again, the gauges no longer being in force at that time. The appeal to the people of Sochaux is launched.