What does Berrichonne Football really look like? Castelroussins supporters can still ask themselves the question after the somewhat crazy draw conceded by Berri this Friday evening for the third day of National. Led 0-2 after 13 minutes of play, the Blue and Reds ended up coming back to score (2-2). But after already a draw at the start of the season against a promoted (0-0, against Paris 13 Atletico), Châteauroux is treading water.
A disastrous first half
In less than three minutes, the promoted Provençal plunged the heads of Castelroussines into the bucket. Tlili (10′) then Montiel (13′) dampened the ambitions of La Berri, favorite at kick-off.
Opposite, no reaction. Apathetic, overwhelmed physically, technically, the Berrichons worried their supporters, who whistled their players from the 20th minute. “We get caught on things we worked on… We knew it. We need to be more rigorous. We have to deal with this problem in the first half” analyzed coach Mathieu Chabert after the meeting. “It happens to be led, but we have to be stronger on our reaction. We will still be behind several times in this championship.“
A revival in the second act
During half-time, the castelroussin locker room was agitated. “Everyone has spoken. Julian (Cobbler, sports coordinator), Opa (Bloody, captain of the Berri and absent this evening due to injury)…” confided Mathieu Chabert.
It is clear that this had an effect. Combined with a drop in pace on the Martégal side, the return of the Berrichons was made thanks to Thio (53 ‘), then a firecracker at the entrance to the surface of Youssouf (73’).
Two goals, and several chances, especially late in the game. Something to move the Gaston-Petit stadium a little, and even see some regrets arise for the Castelroussin coach: “To be trailing 0-2 at half-time… You have to be strong mentally, you have to have a great ability to react. And we have it. We raised the level physically and mentally. We have a shared feeling: happy to be back, but some regrets all the same. If we have more success on the last occasions, we can do something big.”
So, one point gained or two points lost? Given the scenario of the match, Mathieu Chabert does not hesitate for long: “Today, we will say that we have won a point.“
Post-match reactions
Nathanael Thio: “We tend to have a better second half. We are a reaction team. The second half is our true face. It is the Berri who dominates, who shows that she wants to win. We got motivated at half time. If we’re all fooling ourselves, we don’t have the necessary lucidity. We haven’t accepted our fate. We tried to keep our cool“.
Benjaloud Youssouf: “The first half is catastrophic. The opener hurt us. We were warned, we had seen this kind of situation on video. At half-time, we were shaken up by the coach and Julien Cordonnier. Two points at home against promoted? We are not performing as we should be. In the second half, we were revengeful. We could have added more. It’s a frustrating game. But in the end, there is a point and we remain undefeated“.
Next match for Berrichonne Football : Friday, September 2, at Le Puy-en-Velay, also promoted to National this season. In the standings, after three days, the Berri is 6th.