One victory and seven draws: a modest away record for FC Lorient. Their last win was on August 15. It caused a sensation—a 3-1 victory at Parc des Princes with a brace from a certain Marama Vahirua. Since then: not much. A few draws and notably few goals: no goals scored away from Brittany since November 24 at Lens, that was again Marama Vahirua. The Niçois, however, need to remain vigilant. A victory would allow them to create an almost definitive gap with their opponents for the day. It would mainly help them to stay at the top of the table, not far from Olympique de Marseille and AS Nancy Lorraine. A victory would give the Red and Black supporters high hopes for the end of the season.
But not everything is rosy. The Eagles had been soaring at Ray since January 2007. They put together an impressive series of home games without defeat. Every series has an end. And this one ended on February 10 against Marseille. Thirteen days later, Nice lost again at Ray against Auxerre. Against Le Mans, the negative spiral was stopped by a laborious 0-0. Unconvincing, with some blues in the soul. Against Lorient, it is necessary to capitalize on the success obtained in Metz last week, the first in seven games.
Captain Olivier Echouafni, on the official website confirms this principle: “We had been waiting for a win for 7 games. It came at a very good time. Now we need to confirm this success with a victory on Saturday at home, to make Ray a fortress again.” Ranked fifth, it is now about enjoying ourselves without overthinking. Here too, Olivier Echouafni endorses this objective: “We must not try to project ourselves too far. We should take the games as they come, without overthinking. We’ll do the sums at the end, hoping to finish as high up as possible.” For that, we need to reconnect with victories at home.
