The winter temperatures of Delaune were perhaps the harbingers. But in the continuity of the service provided to Clermont last week, the Reims machine seized up. Unable to be dangerous in front of the opposing goal, jostled in midfield, the Rémois did not offer the expected spectacle. The first twenty minutes, however, seemed promising. Ndri Koffi caused damage to the Lorraine defense while Jens Cajust, the rookie lined up from the start, showed some of the extent of his talent. But the inaccuracies were too numerous to allow real goalscoring situations.
Only Ilan Kebbal, with a nice recovery, gave Marc-Aurèle Caillard a real fright. But in the process, Opa Nguette found the gloves of a Predrag Rajkovic vigilant. A messina action symbol of the change of physiognomy. And the exit of Cadjusted at the break did not help matters. Unbalanced, the Reims team struggled in midfield, Dion Lopy sometimes being too lonely to cover an area where visitors were taking over. By dint of clumsiness, the protégés ofOscar Garcia end up being trapped. Thomas Delaine, left free on the right side found Ibrahima Niane at the far post. The resumption of the head of the Messin striker surprises the Reims goalkeeper. The local reaction is late. Powerless, the Rémois wait for stoppages to create danger. But neither the overhead kick of Nathanael Mbuku, nor the angry climbs of the goalkeeper were going to change things. An annoying poor performance against a direct competitor. And the trip to the Parc des Princes next week does not bode well for a rapid accounting recovery.
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In Reims (Stade Delaune), Metz beat Stade de Reims 1-0
- half time : 0-0
- Arbitrator : Jeremy Pignard
- Goal – Niane (61st) for Metz
- Warnings : at Rémois Bradley Locko (24th), Dion Lopy (50th), Thomas Foket (80th), Predrag Rajkovic (84th); at Messins Thomas Delaine (19th), Sikou Niakaté (28th), Vincent Pajot (45th), Ibrahima Niane (82nd)
- Reims : Rajkovic – Foket, Gravillon (Mbuku 68th), Faes, Abdelhamid (cap), Locko – Cadjus (Flips 45th), Adeline (Donis 62nd), Lopy – Kebbal (Doumbia 74th), Koffi (Hornby 74th). Coach: Oscar Garcia
- Metz : Caillard – Yade, Niakaté, Kana-Biyik (Lacroix 45th), Mbengue, Delaine – Pajot (cap), Traoré, Bassi (Sabaly 76th) – Niane, Nguette. Entr: Frédéric Antonetti
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