CFA 2
Round 21
Saturday 11th March 2006
RED STAR 0 ARRAS 0 (ht 0-0)
Attendance : 350 - referee : Franck Schneider assisted by Alain Lissorgue & Stéphane Gandrille
Booked : Davidson (42), Sinobad (54), Fourneuf (67) - Koffi (90 + 3)
Substitutions : Davidson by Baldé (63) - Fournet by Malfait (70), Massamba by Gayant (90), Chagnaud by Moreau (90)
RED STAR FC 93 : RED STAR FC 93 : BELL (1), HAMMAMI (2), GUEI (3), TOUNKARA (4), FOURNEUF, cap. (5), DIOMANDE (6), DAVIDSON (7), BEHICHE (8), DOUMBYA (9), SINOBAD (10), BENMESMOUDI (11). PAGES (12), YESSAD (13), ABDALLAH (14), BALDE (15), MAMA(16) Coach : Jean-Luc GIRARD
ARRAS : LAMBENNE (1), ROBALO (2), PETIT (3), DELERUE (4), OUMAR (5), DIKABA (6), BELLATRECHE (7) cap., KOFFI (8), MASSAMBA (9), FOURNET (10), CHAGNAUD (11), GAYANT (12), MALFAIT (13), MOREAU(14), DUCHATEAU (15), BIIFTBIERE (16).
Coach : Christophe Raymond
Lassana Doumbya shows his team mates where to put the ball !
MUD MUD NOT SO GLORIOUS MUD
It would be easy to blame the atricious pitch conditions for a very average performance on a cold Saturday evenign at Bauer, but in reality Red Star lacked imagination against Arras. Coach Girard lamented the long ball game badly played by his charges, but in reality slick passing movements on this surface were inevitably doomed to failure. On balance Arras probably had the best occasions to seal the win, but some woeful finishing left Red Star with a clean sheet. Yann Bell was relatively left to a peaceful evening in behind a defence of Fourneuf and Tounkara who didn't give much away. For once the normally reliable Bilal Hammami was guilty of a couple of slips which might have let in Arras' nippy winger but for some panic finishing.
Red Stars' best player and the one most likely to score was Lassana Doumbya, who worked incredibly hard and showed that the win was vital to his side; the disappointment on his face at the final whistle was genuine. Girard took off Davidson Charles on the hour to be replaced by Baldé, but things might have been slightly more promising with Davidson out wide left and Baldé on the right. Big Franck Gueï tried his hardest but lacked pace and sometimes control in a wide left position. Kaba Diomande supported well and had one of his better games, not much got past him in defence.
Red Stars' midfield is sorely lacking the graft and inspiration of skipper Reevis N'Simba. Whilst Greg Sinobad worked hard and created some openings for the strikers, young Assad Béhiche looked at times as if he didn't quite know what he was supposed to be doing. His eagerness earned him a ticking off from the referee and escaped a booking; in the second half he did look more composed and contributed to an overall improvement.
Red Star saved their best for the last ten minutes and subjected the visitors to a mini-siege; a series of corners failed to deliver the breakthrough however and so the league leaders will probably rue the two lost points.
With another home game coming up against a side very similar to Arras, Red Star will have to rethink their stragies a little.
© AllezRedStar.com 2006