Updated 31st May 2011

NO MIRACLE... Red Stars' season ended on something of a damp squib with a 0-0 lacklustre draw again Metz reserves, whom quite honestly looked the better side. Effectively, Red Stars' lingering hopes of finishing champions ended when Quevilly sscored from the spot at Poissy. Even when Rémi Dugimont was fouled and Poissy drew level from the penalty spot it seemed to be a long shot to hope for a miracle. Metz dominated affairs at Bauer and Quevilly did enough to run down the minutes at Poissy and settle for a 1-1 draw, enough to ensure them the championship. So Red Star finish second, their best-ever finish in the CFA but still not good enough to gain promotion to the National. Easy to blame the 0-0 draw at Villemomble for Red Stars' woes, but the sorry tale of no less than twelve draws inclding five goalless draws speaks volumes. Add to that unnecessary home defeats to Avion and Mantes and the picture does look rather bleak. As for the future, it is looking somewhat uncertain as rumours circulate linking coach Alain Mboma with a move to Paris FC (National). If Mboma does leave it is likely that there will be a mass exodus of players too, some maybe following their coach to pastures new. Red Star as they turned out for the last match of 2010-2011 Back : NSingi, Kébé, Ngam Germain, Fardin, Sabin Front : Marie, Beziouen, Gazeau, Macalou, Abissonono, cap. © Jacques Martin END OF AN ERA End of an era at Stade Bauer on Saturday as Red Stars' first XI played their last-ever game on the grass pitch at Bauer. But the honour of playing the very last first-class game on the hallowed turf fell to the reserves, whom despite a game 2-1 victory over champions Les Ulis were relegated to the DHR. It appears that the two point penalty applied to Red Star for fielding an ineligible Brahim Bennaï earlier in the season proved to be very costly. Red Stars' Faouzi Djemali will go into the history books as the last-ever Red Star player to score on the grass at Bauer, doubling Red Stars' lead after captain Nabile Yessad set them on their way. But the honour of scoring last-ever goal to be scored on the grass at Bauer goes to the relatively unknown Les Ulis player Yakou. Faouzi Djemali, scorer of Red Stars' second at Bauer on Sunday. BYE BYE PATRICE Leaving Red Star at the end of the season will be popular Technical Directory Patrice Lecornu. Patrice has done just about every jon at Bauer - firstly as a player (1976-1978 then 1984-1985) before moving on to Nantes and Angers (3 times capped for France), D 2 coach (1989-1990), Centre de formation supremo (1992-2000) … Patrice nurtured the early careers of player such as Marlet, Agasson, Fellahi, Mauricio, Meïté, Itandje.. Patrice Lecornu. Back to the camera is Roger Lemerre CFA RESULTS  RED STAR FC 93 - METZ : 0-0 Drancy - Lens B : 4-0 Avion - Compiègne : 0-1 Entente SSG - Villemomble : 4-0 Aubervilliers – FC Mantois : 2-1 Poissy - Quevilly : 1-1 Noisy-le-Sec - Le Havre B : 2-2 Moissy-Cramayel - Lille B : 1-1 CA Bastia exempt Mantes are relegated as the worst 15th-placed team across all four CFA groups. Quevilly are champions, Red Star finish third in the ranking of top-second-placed clubs behind Epinal and Martigues. So three National clubs will have to be demoted in order for Red Star to move to the higher level. Rumours circulate about the futures of Strasbourg and Pacy-sur-Eure. THE LAST TIME Officiating for the last-ever game of his refereeing career on Saturday at Bauer was Monsieur Patrice Caudron, a regular visitor to Bauer over the years. Eric Billault, Hamid Guénaoui and Patrice Caudron, Saturdays' officials © GT Valck WORK IN PRGRESS Photo taken today as work continues on the replacement of the turf at Bauer with a new synthetic surface.

Updated 28th May 2011

FOLLOW THE SCORES WITH ALLEZREDSTAR.COM At the moment Red Star and Quevilly are battling for promotion to the National : to sum up affairs, Red Star need to win and Quevilly need to lose. Final whistle at Saint-Ouen and at Poissy - RED STAR 0 METZ RESERVES 0 and POISSY 1 (pen) QUEVILLY 1 (pen) Quevilly are champions. (This page won't refresh itself automatically - hit F5 (IE) or Ctrl R (Firefox) from time to time to refresh)

Updated 27th May 2011

WAITING FOR A MIRACLE Red Star go into Saturdays' game against Metz reserves hoping for a miracle. A win is needed to allow Red Star to claim the title of CFA group A champions and automatic promotion to the National (D3). At the same time, however, Red Star must hope that Poissy and their leading scorer Rémi Dugimont do the job at home to current leaders Quevilly, who have a three point advance on Red Star. Poissy, fifth, have nothing left to play for this season and their ace marksman is already on the way to pastures new next season at Rouen (National). Metz reserves, however, are a completely different story, looking to finish as French reserve team champions. The first team have had a particularly torrid time in the second division this season and some of the younsters in the CFA will be looking to catch the eye of the first team coaching staff with a view to a first-team place next season. The CFA has already produced two youngsters whom are now in the first division spotlight; Kevin Gameiro scored against Red Star for Strasbourg reserves and now is at Lorient, whilst Sochauxs' Marvin Martin has completed an outstanding season in the first division. Sochauxs' Marvin Martin (10) at Bauer. Red Stars' captain is Eugène Kangulungu ALSO THIS WEEKEND No doubt the telephone connections between Saint-Ouen and Poissy will be busy on Saturday as Red Star and Quevilly perform a duel at distance. To put it simply, a draw is good enough for Quevilly irrespective of what Red Star do. Barring administrative problems, Red Star even if they lose will finish second, they are currently one point behind CA Bastia but Bastia have played all their games. (In the CFA a defeat earns one point). Should Red Star finish runners-up, then they will have to wait to see if any unlucky National club are relegated on non-sporting reasons (bankruptcy...). Strasbourg were in some difficulty earlier in the season but appear to have their house in order now. Even if a club is forcefully demoted, then there is a long and complex procedure to determine the best second-placed club across the four CFA groups. Last season UJA Alfortville were promoted this way, but struggled horribly at the higher level and look to be on the way back down again. Indeed the whole future of the club is in jeopardy now. Exiled at Marville then finally at Racing, crowds have dwindled to very low levels. RED STAR FC 93 - METZ Drancy - Lens B Avion - Compiègne Entente SSG - Villemomble Aubervilliers – FC Mantois Poissy - Quevilly Noisy-le-Sec - Le Havre B Moissy-Cramayel - Lille B END OF AN ERA AT BAUER Saturdays' final game of the season at Bauer (6pm CET) sees not just the end of the season, but also the end of an era as the grass pitch will be ripped up after the weekend to be replaced by an artificial surface of the very latest generation. With a quality surpassing the pitches recently installed at Lorient and Nancy, the pitch, which cost the town of Saint-Ouen 940 000 euros, has an expected lifespan of ten years and enables the stadium to be more intensively used. The surface is the same as the one used at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia. alt="Jeudi matin, presque la dernière tonte de la pelouse de Bauer © GT Valck"> Stade Bauer and its grass pitch, on Thursday morning © GT Valck alt="Jeudi matin, presque la dernière tonte de la pelouse de Bauer © GT Valck"> Next season, no mower required ! © GT Valck alt="Jeudi matin, presque la dernière tonte de la pelouse de Bauer © GT Valck"> A closer view of the pitch © GT Valck Saint-Ouen council have invested nearly a million euros in the surface, an interesting move, given the uncertainties over the future of the 100-years old stadium. The move to a new stadium in the Docks ares of the town is still in the backgound, although the financial climate has changed since the news was announced. Red Star could be on the verge of promotion to the National (D3), where potentially crowds could be much higher than at present. Bauer is currently one-sided, with the "New" (1975) stand behind the goal out of use and crumbling away and the opposite terrace is roofless and in a precarious state. Segregation might be an issue (there is only one entrance/exit to the one viable stand at Bauer).

Updated 24th May 2011

DREAM ALL BUT OVER Any remaining hopes of winning the CFA and automatic promotion to the National were dashed at near neighbours Villemomble on Saturday. Red Star could not break down one of the dourest sides in the CFA and the score finished 0-0, exactly the same as it did earlier in the season at Bauer. Red Star created anough chances to win the game but a combination of poor finishing and solid defending kept the scoreline blank. Villemomble have a reputation as being a side hard to beat and for years have the mentality of "avoiding defeat", one which is making French football somewhat insipid. Meanwhile Quevilly were struggling to break down a resilient ten-man Drancy, fighting for points to ensure their CFA survival. Quevilly missed a penalty but nevertheless went on to score the only goal of the game, a vital one that stretches their lead over second-placed Red Star to three points. In the remaining game, Red Star must now beat fourth-placed Metz reserves at Bauer and hope that over in Poissy, Quevilly lose their game. As Red Star have beaten and drawn with Quevilly, Red Star would therefore be promoted to the National. Poissy are fifth and have nothing to play for. But Red Star found that Poissy are no pushover and have the divisions' top scorer Rémi Dugimont in their team. Should Red Star finish second, then their best hope is to finish as one of the CFAs' best second placed clubs, all divisions included. The calculations are based not on the number of points accumulated but on results obtained against the top five sides in their division. Complicated. At the end of the Villemomble game, a section of Red Stars' supporters attacked the home clubs' stewards. Police were called and seven arrests were made. Romuald Marie in action against Villemomble CFA RESULTS  Quevilly - Drancy : 1 - 0 Lens B - Avion : 1 - 2 Le Havre B - Aubervilliers : 2 - 0 Villemomble - RED STAR FC 93 : 0 - 0 Metz B - Noisy-le-Sec : 3 - 0 Compiègne - Moissy-Cramayel : 2 - 0 Bastia CA - Entente SSG : 1 - 0 FC Mantois - Poissy : 3 – 1 Lille exempt RED STAR V METZ RESERVES The game kicks off at Bauer on Saturday at 6pm CET and goes down in history as being the last match to be played on grass at the venerable old stadium. Next season a synthetic surface will be laid. Pity.

Updated 16th May 2011

HOPES STILL ALIVE Red Star topped the CFA group A for twenty-two hours on Friday evening - only for Quevilly to spoil things by winning 2-1 away at Lens reserves, a victory that goes a long way to ensuring that the Normands finish champions. Red Stars' clash with table toppers CA Bastia was brought forwards twenty four hours to avoid a potential clash with the Coupe de France final programmed the same evening a few kilometres away in Saint-Denis. A good move because for the first time since the end of the 1997-1998 season and the last ever Division Two game at Stade Bauer, over two thousand spectators turned up for the game. But for an hour the visitors looked to have spoiled the party. Ouedraogo had given Bastia the lead on twenty four minutes, somewhat against the run of play. Red Star attacked and pushed back the Corses whom held firm thanks to their goalkeeper Lombard. But on the hour Red Stars' perseverance paid dividends as Farid Bezioun was on hand to tap home a cross and send a wave of relief through Bauer. With nine minutes remaining Peguy Ngam send the stadium wild as he netted what proved to be Red Stars' winner to an explosion of joy through the old ground. Ouedraogo was sent off in the last seconds to end a frustrating evening for the visitors. Farid Bezioun draws the sides level CFA RESULTS Bastias' title hopes are all but over, they have one game remaining whilst their rivals have two. Next games - Villemomble v Red Star and Quevilly v Drancy. Drancy are fighting now to avoid the drop following a poor home defeat to Mantes. Meanwhile Villemomble will surely give no favours to their ex-coach. RED STAR FC 93 - Bastia CA : 2 - 1 Poissy - Le Havre B : 3 - 0 Entente SSG - Lille B : 1 - 1 Aubervilliers - Metz B : 2 - 3 Moissy-Cramayel - Avion : 2 - 1 Noisy-le-Sec - Villemomble : 2 - 1 Drancy - Mantes : 0 - 1 A packed main stand at Bauer on Friday evening

Updated 9th May 2011

RED STAR MAKE IT FOUR ON THE TROT Red Star returned from their trip to Lille with maximum points to keep the pressure up on the two front runners in the group. Peguy Ngam scored a precious goal just after the half hour mark to earn four vital points for his side. Elsewhere it was Quevillys' turn to trip uo as they could only draw 1-1 at Avion, but Bastia comprehensively thrashed bottom side Noisy-le-Sec 3-0, a defeat that condemns Red Stars' neighbours to CFA 2 football next season. Bastia go top, one point ahead of Quevilly and two ahead of Red Star, but they have played one game more. Fridays' game at home to Bastia promises to be a real crunch match, the losers will have a fight on their hands to get back in the race. Bastia have two games left (Red Star, Entente SSG), Quevilly three (Lens, Drancy, Poissy) and Red Star three (Bastia, Villemomble, Metz). Meguy Ngam scores Red Stars' vital winner at Lille RESERVES OFFER SOME HOPE Red Stars' reserves produced a class performance to thrash Evry 4-0 and to give themselves some breathing space in their battle to avoid relegation from the DSR. Reinforced by Quentin Guyon from the first XI and led by Nabile Yessad in fine form, a Yessad penalty set them on their way to the victory. Nabile Yessad fires home his spot kick to set Red Star on their way (Photo Jacques Martin) CFA RESULTS  FC Mantois - Lens B : 0 - 0 Avion - Quevilly : 1 - 1 Bastia CA - Noisy-le-Sec : 3 - 0 Villemomble - Aubervilliers : 2 - 2 Compiègne - Entente SSG : 1 - 1 LILLE B - RED STAR FC 93 : 0 - 1 Le Havre B - Drancy : 0 - 2 Metz B - Poissy : 2 - 2 Moissy-Cramayel exempt

Updated 2nd May 2011

RED STAR MARCH ON AS BASTIA FALTER Red Star recorded their third straight win on their travels at Compiègne on Saturday evening, Cédric Sabin netting the only goal in a 1-0 win. After back-to-back wins away at Entente SSG then at Moissy last weekend, Red Star keep the pressure on Quevilly and Bastia. Aubervilliers' late equaliser at home to Bastia throws the championship open again, although leaders Quevilly appear to have recovered from their poor form, beating lowly Mantes 2-0, something Red Star failed to do. The run-in promises to be a tight affair, with the three leading sides looking like this: Quevilly (currently 1st with 83 points from 28 games ) Avion away Les reserves away Drancy home Poissy away Bastia (currently 2nd with 82 points from 29 games ) Noisy-le-Sec away Red Star away Entente SSG home Red Star (currently 3rd with 80 points from 28 games ) Lille reserves away Bastia home Villemomble away Metz reserves home (Bastia will have to sit out the last round, knowing that their fate is in the hands of others) Cédric Sabin heads home Red Stars' winner at Compiègne (J. Martin) CFA RESULTS  Aubervilliers - Bastia CA : 1 - 1 Quevilly - Mantes : 2 - 0 Poissy - Villemomble : 0 - 1 Entente SSG - Moissy-Cramayel : 1 - 2 Compiègne - RED STAR FC 93 : 0 - 1 Noisy-le-Sec - Lille B : 1 - 4 Lens B - Le Havre B : 3-1 Drancy - Metz B : 0-2

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