Entangled in its vertiginous series of 18 matches without a win, Rodez welcomes the leader Toulouse, Monday May 2 at 8:45 p.m., for a derby during which regional supremacy will be eclipsed by the urgency of maintaining blood and gold and the possibility of associating the title of champion in the ascent on the Téfécé side.
Geography does not say everything. Toulouse may be Rodez’s closest opponent in Ligue 2, but it is also the furthest away from it, in many respects.
If they have been side by side for two seasons on the second floor of French football, the two clubs have written their past at distinct heights, between a Téfécé used to frequenting the elite and a Raf mainly a resident of the CFA for the past 25 years.
Their trajectories will also move away again, because the violets have validated their ticket for Ligue 1, since their victory against Niort (2-0), Monday, April 25. Unlike last season, the club from the pink city concretized on the ground its status as the favorite of the championship, he who presented himself on the starting line with the biggest budget.
“We are going to play half of the typical Ligue 2 team”
On these levels too, the contrast between neighbors is striking, since Rodez has one of the most modest purses in Ligue 2 and is still fighting to maintain it. The forms of the moment are also at the antipodes, because the formation having taken the most points since the beginning of the year goes to the lawn of the last of the class during the return phase, out of victory since December 3.
These elements say a lot about the gap between the two teams as well as the immensity of the challenge facing Laurent Peyrelade’s men. “We are going to play half of the typical Ligue 2 team”, warned the blood and gold coach. At the foot of the mountain, its players must raise their level to overcome the difficulties, those who need points to renew their lease in the division. Virtual play-offs if we consider that Quevilly should have won a match against Nancy, the Ruthénois are still in the game, despite their series of 18 matches without a win, to hope for a continuation before the play-offs, in particular thanks to the favorable results on Saturday April 30 .
Disappointments to overcome
Being able to cross the peaks requires finding the mental resources at the end of a week with three matches and as many disappointments, against Paris FC (0-1), Nancy (1-1) and Nîmes (2-3 ). Each time, the Aveyronnais left the field with their heads full of regrets and the feeling of having come very close to a more favorable outcome.
These torments culminated in the defeat in the Gard: after coming up two goals behind at the start of the second half, the blood and gold missed several opportunities to take the lead and lost in stoppage time after a blunder. of their goalkeeper, Lionel Mpasi. “These are misclassified scenarioscommented Laurent Peyrelade. In these situations, you have to show above-average mental strength.”
An essential element to achieve, tonight, what would be a real feat, or even half of one by sharing the points, in order to increase their chances before the last two meetings of the season. And incidentally to dig an almost definitive gap on Dunkirk, the first relegation. “This match is a chance to stay, it must give us mad rage”launched the coach.
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What state of mind on the Toulouse side?
To achieve a successful outcome, he insisted on the need “to have a formidable efficiency” et “to be well connected, with the will to suffer and to play”. “But it does not depend only on us”, he also admitted. It will indeed be decisive to know at what level will be the spirit of conquest of Toulouse, who are only missing one point to clinch the crown of champion. However, the ability of the Ruthénois to surpass themselves during the derby is not to be demonstrated, they who snatched a draw in the first leg (1-1) and overcame the Haut-Garonnais last season at home (1 -0).
Even if it will be relativized by the sporting stakes of the end of the season, the regional rivalry will also have a place in this duel, five months after a confrontation completed in an electric atmosphere at the Stadium. The atmosphere promises to be special today, since the partners of Rémy Boissier should benefit from the support of a Paul-Lignon entirely committed to their cause, while many Toulouse supporters have planned to follow the match near the stadium, on the forecourt of the village hall. Now one question remains: will the perfume of the big night allow Raf to wake up from his deep sleep?
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