Saint-Etienne beaten from the start, Bordeaux held in check

Two historic French football clubs moved down to Ligue 2 last season. And for their first game of the year, Saturday July 30, none won. In front of their public, the Girondins de Bordeaux had to settle for a draw against Valenciennes (0-0) taking only one point in the standings. It’s still better than Saint-Etienne, beaten a few hours earlier by Dijon (2-1).

The Stéphanois had the honor of opening the Ligue 2 championship, but they missed their reunion with the second division. Asphyxiated from the start of the match, the men of the new coach Laurent Batlles multiplied their defensive wanderings to the delight of the Dijon residents, who were determined not to give ASSE a gift, who had not known Ligue 2 for ten -eight years.

Stéphanois too fragile in defense

As a result, Dijon football Côte-d’Or was not long in proving dangerous and it took an impeccable Etienne Green to capture a first header from Daniel Congré (7^e minute) and above all win a head-to-head against Mickaël Le Bihan (17^e). But abandoned by his defense, he could do nothing this time when the Dijon striker pushed the ball into the back of his net following a new confusion in the surface of the Greens (29^e).

A few minutes later, Mickaël Le Bihan, again him, broke through the heart of the defense to allow Bryan Soumaré to double the lead (41^e). A goal far from being illogical but somewhat cruel, the referee having made a mistake at the start of the action, returning the key to Dijon when the ball should have returned to Saint-Etienne.

Upon returning from the locker room, the Dijonais continued to press and were very close to adding to the bill. But a little against the course of the game, it was finally the Stéphanois who managed to reduce the mark (69^e) on a cover of the young Ayman Aiki (17 years old). Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t pack the end of the game to get an unexpected equalizer. On the contrary, they even finished it at 10 after the expulsion of Denis Bouanga (90^e). The Greens will have to do better if they want to come back, especially since they started the season with a three-point deficit in the standings after the serious incidents during the play-off against Auxerre on May 29.

The young people of Bordeaux have come to light

The Girondins de Bordeaux display a capital of positive points after this first day of the championship, and it is already a satisfaction in itself for a club which only had the assurance of being able to evolve in Ligue 2 on Wednesday. The preparation for the match was therefore somewhat disrupted, both for Bordeaux and for Valenciennes, and this was particularly seen during a poor first period.

In addition to a three against a badly negotiated by the Girondins at the end of the first act (37^e), the two teams returned to the locker room without having offered a great show to a Bordeaux public who had come in large numbers to the Matmut Atlantique to support David Guion’s players in their “recovery operation”. Quite the opposite of a second period much more removed.

As soon as they returned from the locker room, the young Bordeaux players were more available on the pitch, and one of them, Dilane Bakwa (19), particularly comfortable on the lawn. He even thought he probably opened the scoring on his shot from the left (51^e), but, with a superb flight, goalkeeper Gauthier Larsonneur deflected the ball which took the direction of his skylight.

As liberated by this opportunity, the locals began to gain confidence and to be more and more dangerous. But none of their chances, like Josh Maja’s attempt, 23, hit the mark (71^e). Worn out by repeated efforts and by recent weeks during which the future of their club has been put on hold, they ended up giving up their arms and sharing the points with Valenciennes.