After the elimination of Stade Lavallois on the lawn of Orvault in Loire-Atlantique during the 7th round of the Coupe de France football, the Laval coach, Olivier Frapolli took the time to analyze what happened.
What is your reaction after this elimination in the Cup?
Olivier Frapolli: “I apologize to the supporters who were present and to all those who follow the team. For me, it’s clear, we did attack-defense all match. the goal. And on our side, I felt a little helpless. We had the ball at 80%, we tried to sweep this team across the width (of the pitch), we had a lot of crosses, sometimes imprecise and when the crosses arrived, there weren’t necessarily the attackers to finish. So for me, it’s always annoying but it should enlighten us on the fact that we certainly didn’t have the means to go very far in this competition.
How do you explain this inability of your players to dominate this Orvault team?
OF: “We had to show patience, but also character, technical accuracy, but also a little talent. Going to provoke certain situations and that, we were not able to do. This confirms that I am doing the good choices at the weekend and that we certainly did not have the weapons to play two competitions up to a certain level.”
Did you somehow fall into the trap of the Coupe de France?
OF: “The only thing not to do in this type of meeting is to be behind in the score. And we found a way, on the only occasion, the only shot from Orvault, to concede a goal. And that underlines a certain impotence. And today (Saturday), I played with the only two attackers available at the club, Geoffray Durbant and Kader N’Chobi. And when you want to go far in a competition and ensure the maintenance in championship, you need weapons, and today, we simply don’t have them.”
Is this elimination therefore a blessing in disguise?
OF: “The question is indeed whether we had the means to go further. Passing the laps is good, but the objective of a Coupe de France is to go far, not pass one or two rounds. Did we have these means? From what I saw in this match, we did not have them, absolutely not.
“Everything is done so that the small brings down the big”
Is this lack of means you are talking about in line with the objectives of the president of the club in the Cup?
OF: “We have the same objective, it’s not the president or me, we have the same objective. I too want to go far in the Coupe de France. But between what we want and what “We can, we have things to do today. We have five attackers at the club, plus Julien Maggiotti, our top scorer. Of these six attacking players, only two are valid (Julien Maggiotti is retained for family reasons and Zakaria Naidji was suspended editor’s note). And even against a Regional 1, in the Coupe de France, it’s not enough, it doesn’t pass. With the president, we discuss it, we are both aware of it. We have means that are ours. We can only recruit a joker while waiting for the start of the winter transfer window, which limits the possibilities. Attackers have been tested several times. This is the observation that I draw up, on this match, offensively, I did not have many assets.
This is the fourth time since 2008 that Stade Lavallois has been knocked out of the Cup by an R1 or an R2, but do you take that as a fatality?
OF: “Yes, I know it sells, it makes the buzz. I know it’s a shame (sic). They were eliminated by an R1. But it’s the Coupe de France. Every year, teams of R1, R2, R3 achieve feats, teams of N3 go very far. These are scenarios where you have everyone against you, the public. Everything is done so that the small defeats the big.
For the fifth time in twenty years, Stade Lavallois will not play in the 8th round of the Coupe de France.