“We fall from even higher”, say the Bergeracois beaten on penalties by Versailles

However, they thought they had done the hardest part, when their striker Axel Tressens had perfectly crossed his shot from the left. We then played the 89th minute, and Bergerac had just equalized (1-1), to afford the penalty shootout he wanted. “I experienced the most beautiful emotion of all my life. It was too beautiful”, says the scorer. “I can’t even explain to you, I looked at everyone, I was like a kid who is dreaming. It was magnificent“.

Before that, the Bergeracois had long stumbled on a Versailles block at ease since the opening of the Ile-de-France score from Diarrassouba, a quarter of an hour into the game. “We have the feeling of having started this match badly, we lacked intensity. This goal is cruel, because we felt that we had control over the ball”, deplores the side Sam Ducros. Next, “in the content, we lacked a little bit of strength and speed in the transmissions to put them in difficulty”, analyzes his trainer Erwan Lannuzel. “The hardest thing in football is to make the difference in the last 30 meters. We lacked a bit of accuracy in relation to that.”

Still, Tressens equalized. “It’s in our image, the goal we score at the end. We didn’t give up. We believed in it until the end and all together”, he says. Next, “we fall from even higher with this elimination to the penos”, is moved Sam Ducros. “We know that penalties are a lottery. Tonight we lost”. The Versaillese converted their five attempts, while Bergerac defender Kevin Mingoua hit his on the post. “It’s hard to find the words, but we told him that we had had a great run. We knew it was going to end one day and that we had to remember his exploits against Metz and Saint Etienne“, comforts Sam Ducros. “The devil is in the details, and today the devil was against us”, philosopher Erwan Lannuzel.

So there is a disappointment to lose at this level of the competition against a club which also plays in National 2. “But in the end, if we lose against Metz, we don’t experience the emotions of Saint-Etienne and Créteil. Just the draws, which we lived together… It was beautiful. But all beautiful things to an end”, laments Axel Tressens. “I’m disappointed for amateur football because I think it’s not the best project that happened tonight,” dropped the general manager of the club Paul Fauvel, referring – surely – to the difference in means between the two clubs.

Almost 7,000 spectators in the quarter-finals against an N2, in Périgord, it’s magnificent

So what to remember from this course, started in the 4th round in September at Portes Entre Deux Mers, punctuated by eight qualifying without conceding a goal, by beating two Ligue 1 clubs, Metz and Saint-Étienne? For Sam Ducros these are “These beautiful emotions, whether in Bergerac or Périgueux. Almost 7,000 spectators in the quarter-finals against an N2, in Périgord, it’s magnificent”. Paul Fauvel, he also retained “The popular support of Périgord, an armored stadium from armored, with people who encourage us to the end. That’s our adventure. That’s what we shared with people”. What to make Erwan Lannuzel “proud” of its players. “I’ve been proud of the boys since June 25, because it’s a group that works, that is generous,” explains the coach.

After the penalty shootout, he gathered his group in the middle of the field. To remind them of the return to reality of the National 2 championship. “We are playing Saturday in Béziers. And today, we are going to give ourselves the right to still seek emotions”. And Axel Tressens was already promising to “get revenge” on the Biterrois. “We have to get back to the championship because we have a good end to the season to play, and try to quickly get out of this disappointment in the Cup”, encourages Sam Ducros. With a six-point lead over second-placed Andrézieux, Bergerac wants to retain this leading position synonymous with a rise in National.

But Wednesday evening, Axel Tressens was already very happy to have experienced all that. “With the Covid, what we experienced was horrible. We, the amateurs, were stopped at home, sometimes we didn’t even train. And there to experience emotions like that, that confirms to us that football is the most beautiful sport in the world, in fact”.