This season, the Gym is unable to win twice in a row. Penalized by the premature exit of Digard, Éric Roy’s men quickly lost their footing. Nancy took advantage to claim their first victory of the season.
A single player doesn’t make a team, to say the least.
That being said, when your captain injures his thigh, it changes the team.
Neither Éric Roy nor Didier Digard – who left prematurely in the 3rd minute – would say otherwise!
Though his exit weighed on his teammates, they did not lose focus. On the contrary, they tried to settle in the Nancy camp, but Jean Fernandez’s men held on, then counter-attacked.
The Lorraine team created the first clear chances, such as the young South Korean Jo-Gook, who hit the crossbar (20th minute).
The Gym responded five minutes later with Fabrice Abriel, Didier Digard’s replacement, forcing Roland N’dy-Assembe to stretch out.
Niculae traps Nice
Despite these two chances, the match was hardly lively. Early in the second half, the Aiglons controlled the ball, with Meriem and Abriel taking the lead. But their effort to wear down the Nancy team was in vain.
A few minutes later, Jean Fernandez’s men played around in the heart of the Azure defense. After a one-touch team play, Reynald Lemaître perfectly set up Daniel Niculae. The former Auxerre player scored a header.
Nice was caught off-guard and almost sank two minutes later. But this was without accounting for the Brazilian defender Helder’s clumsiness, whose shot went wide.
In the last twenty minutes, the Gym struggled to advance. Daniel Niculae narrowly missed a double in the 79th minute. After achieving the most difficult part (a “pigeon wing” tackle), he angled his shot too much.
No matter, the synthetic pitch did not favor Nice (14th, down 1 spot). Meanwhile, AS Nancy-Lorraine secured their first win of the season and is no longer at the bottom of Ligue 1.
