Villerupt 4 - 3 canard VVC (370316318)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 31312 at Stade Delaune today. Hendrik Hanuss was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Cristian Bromo and Jonas Börjesson. Villerupt tactics involved an interesting 2-5-3 combination. They fielded: Patacas - Sizemore, Modok - Abeln, Ahmadi, Padriezas, Garcia, Nowrotek - Moisson, Guyonnet, Lacouture.

canard VVC started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Starters: Grare - Peuvrel, van Steensel, Rodier - Cattet, Blanchard, Miaszyk, Ehnbom, Pošvář - Anderegg, Åhlsjö.

Villerupt used their ability to concentrate their attacks in the middle of the pitch, rather than on the wings. J. Sizemore gave Villerupt the lead as he successfully challenged the guests' central defenders, then slotted the ball into the bottom corner, giving the keeper no chance. 1 - 0 Cheers filled the stadium as M. Moisson broke through the visitors' central defence to put away the ball to increase the lead to 2 - 0 to Villerupt. After this, you could see that the players of Villerupt were more interested in killing time than scoring more goals. The referee showed canard VVC's J. Cattet the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The away team improved the scoreline to 2 - 1, as T. Ehnbom struck home, set up well by a play on the left 37 minutes into the match. Villerupt's P. Nowrotek saw his fine effort strike the top of the bar following some good work up the middle by his teammates after 39 minutes. It was 2 - 1 at the break. Possession in this half belonged to Villerupt, who controlled the ball 54 percent of the time.

The visitors didn't give in and, after 55 minutes, S. Pošvář got through the home side's central line of defence, rolling in the equaliser to make it 2 - 2. P. Nowrotek would have preferred to play on, but his coach decided otherwise. D. Janković entered the game for Villerupt as the match clock showed 60 minutes. As the 60 minute mark approached, the Villerupt coach decided it was time for a substitution. A. Modok reluctantly made way for S. Herowitsch on the pitch. They were singing the praises of Q. Lacouture 68 minutes into the match after his speculative chip from the middle of the penalty box found its way over the visitors' keeper to make the score 3 - 2 to Villerupt. The visitors refused to give in and, after 71 minutes, J. Cattet evened things up as he finished off a perfect pass from the right. 3 - 3 Against a lesser team, Villerupt could very well have succeeded with their smart indirect free kick routine after 78 minutes. A trio of passes took the ball all the way past the defenders, but by then the intended recipient was already blocked off and the keeper could make a leisurely save. Villerupt took the lead 80 minutes into the game by 4 - 3, as P. Guyonnet elegantly received a long range pass through the middle, finishing off with a half-volley shot just below the bar. Villerupt claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 58 percent.

M. Moisson performed admirably for Villerupt. S. Herowitsch on the other hand, had a terrible day. canard VVC's top performer was clearly S. Pošvář. B. Grare was a disappointment, however. The match ends 4 - 3.