Resumption of the championship in D2, seven weeks after the tenth day disputed at the beginning of December. Not all the teams had the opportunity to take to the pitch for this eleventh day, with three matches postponed in group B. Despite everything, this last round of the first leg offered some significant results, with Saint-Étienne and Lille who stand out at the top of their respective groups…
When approaching the winter break, Lille had managed to regain first place in group A ahead of Metz and Lens. LOSC confirmed this ascendancy this weekend on the occasion of the eleventh day, which marks the end of the first leg in D2.
Lille won in the North derby, inflicting a scathing 6-1 on RC Lens. Six goals for LOSC, three per period, with Julie Rabanne opening the score in the fifth minute of play. The Lille striker is on the lookout, after a first strike from Maïté Boucly, repelled by Justine Rousseeu (5e).
Julie Pian adds a second goal, cleverly deflecting the ball returned to the box by Naomie Bamenga (24e). It was then Anaïs Lambert who scored Lille’s third goal, following a corner (32e). The trend is confirmed in the second half.
If Lens will find the net at the end of the match by Chanel Tchaptchet (78e), Lille took off, thanks to new goals signed Maïté Boucly (67e), Lorena Azzaro (74e), and Julie Rabanne who concludes with a double (90e). The Sang et Or will also finish the match at ten, after the second yellow card received by Jennifer Meunier (83e).
Strasbourg comes to join the fight
The blow is hard for the Lensoises who now find themselves four points behind Lille, in the classification of this group A. Lens is not the only team to lose ground on LOSC. This is also the case of FC Metz, beaten on Saturday on the lawn of Strasbourg (3-2).
Despite Amélie Delabre’s opener (10e), the Lorraine players then saw Racing come back to score (19e), then take the lead after the hour mark (63e et 72e). Three Alsatian goals which have in common to have been scored by Latifah Abdu, who arrived in Strasbourg this summer from FC Metz. Jessica Silva’s players will reduce the gap by Océane Picard (90e), but without succeeding in re-establishing parity.
In the standings, Strasbourg (3e) returns to Lens (2e) and Metz (4e). The three teams are tied on points, four lengths behind LOSC, the confirmed leader of this group A. Le Mans is not very far from this trio of pursuers, just one point from the podium, after their victory against Orléans ( 2-1).
The match fell apart in the second period, with Naomie Vagre (70e) then Inès Afri (75e) which allowed Le Mans to take the lead. Orleans will then reduce the gap at the end of the match, by Maëva Salomon (90 + 2), but without affecting the outcome of the meeting.
Issy in the first part of the table
This success maintains Le Mans (5e) in the first part of the table, while Orléans lost sixth place to Issy. As a reminder, the six lowest ranked teams, out of the twelve that make up Group A, will be relegated to D3 at the end of the season. This sixth place is therefore important this season in D2.
Issy settles there temporarily after his victory on the lawn of CA Paris (0-1). In this duel between Ile-de-France clubs, the outcome of the game took shape in the last minutes. While Julie Genty has just repelled an Issian penalty (83e), the Parisian goalkeeper must bow to Shana Battouri (84e).
Issy is getting out of the red zone, while other teams also hope to get out of it during the second half of the season. This is the case of Brest (8e) and La Roche-sur-Yon (9e), two teams that held each other in check (0-0) on Sunday in Vendée.
Nantes continues its good series
For its part, FC Nantes is no longer the red lantern in group A, after its success on the lawn of Saint-Malo (1-2). A last place left to CA Paris, while the Canaries have been undefeated since November, in D2 and in the Coupe de France. A regained form which allows them to relaunch for the second part of the season.
In Brittany, Nantes also came back from behind after Mana Lamine opened the scoring (20e), the Cameroonian striker from Saint-Malo. In the second half, Nantes managed to reverse the trend, thanks to two players coming off the bench, Seynabou Mbengue (72e) and Roseline Eloissaint (79e). Despite its good series, Nantes (11e) remains for the moment at five points from the GPSO 92 Issy (6e), and therefore a possible maintenance at the end of the season.
Group A (2022/2023) – The results of the 11e daytime
RC Strasbourg – FC Metz : 3-2
US Saint-Malo – FC Nantes : 1-2
Le Mans F.C. – US Orléans : 2-1
ESOF La Roche-sur-Yon – Stade Brestois: 0-0
Lille OSC – RC Lens : 6-1
CA Paris 14 – GPSO 92 Issy : 0-1
=> The classification of group A to be found on our page dedicated to the D2
It was time for the shock at the top in Group B, with the reception of Marseille in Saint-Étienne. Despite the snowfall on the Forez, the game was able to be played on Sunday afternoon. A little further north, three encounters suffered from the weather conditions.
Indeed, the three matches scheduled for this weekend in Auvergne, Puy, Yzeure and Clermont have been postponed. Initially maintained, the meeting between Clermont and Thonon Évian was finally canceled the same day, to the chagrin of both teams, the referee considering that the lawn was frozen and impracticable to start the meeting.
Such a situation did not occur in Saint-Étienne where the match against OM took place. A game at stake, between the first two teams in the Group B standings, and undefeated after ten days. If ASSE won (3-2) in this game, Marseille had long led in the score, before seeing the game escape them at the end of the match.
It was Ashley Clark who opened the scoring for OM. Well served in depth, the Marseille captain avoided the exit of Maryne Gignoux, before stinging her ball to find the way to the nets (21e). A few minutes later, Awa Diakhaté doubled the bet, grabbing the left corner from Saint-Etienne, after a good combination from the right side (30e).
A victory snatched at the end of the match by the Vertes
Saint-Étienne nevertheless manages to pull himself together before the break, and reduces the gap by Cindy Caputo (44e), on an excellent curling shot from the right. ASSE thus remains in contact with OM, while in the second half, the entries of Chloé Marty and Esther Okoronkwo will prove decisive for the Vertes.
The pressure is also felt in the last half hour, with the crossbar on the head kick of Phonetia Browne (74e), then the parade of Karima Benameur Taieb (82e) against Cindy Caputo. On the corner that follows, Chloé Marty manages to equalize for Saint-Étienne (82e). The Marseillaises then claim a hand from the Stéphanoise striker, and Mbayang Sow receives a second yellow, synonymous with expulsion (83e). The Olympian defender had then approached too close to Elisa Daupeux, the referee of the match.
From bad to worse, OM conceded a third goal in stride, signed Esther Okoronkwo (85e). The Nigerian striker is proving decisive for her return to competition, after a long absence due to injury since last April.
With this defeat in Saint-Étienne, Marseille now finds itself five points behind its rivals from Saint-Étienne. ASSE concludes an almost perfect first part of the season, with eleven victories in as many league games.
Toulouse revives in Nîmes
Among the meetings that could be played this Sunday, the derby between Montauban and Albi. The Montalbanaises won with a short header (1-0), first missing an opportunity to open the scoring from the penalty spot (34e). Eva Danjou then intervenes for Albi, and it will be necessary to wait for the last minutes of play to see a goal in this part. Entry for the last quarter of an hour, Mikerline Saint-Félix scores at the very end of the match (89e) and Montauban can then pocket the three points.
This result allows Montauban (4e) to stay in the first part of the table, while Toulouse won a poorly ranked duel against Nîmes (1-3). The two teams bring up the rear in the standings, and the TFC has revived at the expense of the Gard club. A hat-trick from Selen Altunkulak allows Toulouse to win this game, a success that ends a series of seven consecutive defeats for the players of the TFC.
Group B (2022/2023) – The results of the 11e daytime
Clermont Foot – Thonon Evian GG: postponed
FF Nîmes MG – Toulouse FC : 1-3
FF Yzeure AA – Grenoble Foot 38 : postponed
Le Puy Foot 43 – OGC Nice: postponed
Montauban FCTG Albi-Marssac TFA: 1-0
AS Saint-Etienne – Olympique de Marseille: 3-2
=> The classification of group B to be found on our page dedicated to the D2
