Press review following yesterday's match in Chateauroux:
https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/1552801/article/2025-02-07/football-national-au-sortir-de-son-relookage-hivernal-ce-va-vraiment-de-la
Football (National): after its winter makeover, this VA really looks good
The Valenciennes team improved on their draw last week by winning this Friday (1-2) in Chateauroux, a third victory in four matches that allows them to temporarily move up to fourth place. Above all, they showed an extremely attractive face in Indre, especially in the first half.
The flu, which has long raged at Mont-Houy, has left the Valenciennes team pretty much alone this week. Weak at the knees, they had not managed to do “much that was satisfactory” in Nîmes, considered Vincent Hognon, apart from having brought back the draw, which was already not bad and had the immense merit of extending a series of invincibility that has stretched since the arrival of the Nancy player at the controls – in Le Mans, in the Coupe de France, VA had only been knocked out on penalties.
Well, this series continued this Friday and the transformation, on the field, was spectacular. Lively, alert, irresistibly drawn to the goal, VA sought to hurt relentlessly in the first half. The Berrichonne often had a headache, overwhelmed by the liveliness of Camblan, Appuah, Oyewusi and Gasnier (4th, 23rd, 33rd, 40th). She hung on, sometimes as best she could, and she was right. Versini stole the ball from Camblan's feet and Clairicia struck, like the scorpion (1-0, 45th).
"I'm happy because we saw an excellent first half, but not enough in the sense that the match should have been over."
Not at all defeated by this stroke of fate, the Valenciennes team moved forward again and immediately equalized, on a finally winning move, initiated by Oyewusi and concluded by Gasnier (1-1, 45th + 2). "I'm happy because we saw an excellent first half," observed Vincent Hognon, "but not enough in the sense that the match should have been over. » His players waited until the return from the locker room to take the lead with a cannon shot from Sissoko, with a magnificent strike from 25 meters, at the end of a move similar to the one that had already led him to score against Paris 13 Atletico (1-2, 52nd).
After that, VA had only one fault, that of being too cautious against the Châteauroux players who put all their strength into the battle. It was injury time when Basse threw himself to block a final strike from N'Goma. Valenciennes had their victory, the third in four matches, and that put smiles on everyone's faces.
CHÂTEAUROUX – VALENCIENNES: 1-2 (1-1).
Stade Gaston-Petit. 3,642 spectators.
Referee: M. Perreau-Niel.
Goals: Clairicia (45th) for Châteauroux; Gasnier (45th + 2), Sissoko (52nd) for Valenciennes.
Warnings for Châteauroux players Chraibi (37th), Pierre (69th); for Valenciennes players Traoré (81st), Sissoko (90th + 4), Touré (90th + 5).
Châteauroux: Konaté; Collella, Pelletier, Agounon (cap.), Umbdenstock (N’Goma, 82nd); Versini, Pierre, Chraibi (Michel, 75th), Mendy; Clairicia, Tormin (Diallo, 64th). Coach: Cris.
Valenciennes: Michel; Diomandé, Touré, Coeff, Basse; Sissoko, Masson (cap.), Gasnier (Boissier, 88th); Appuah (Traoré, 67th), Oyewusi (Antoine, 88th), Camblan (Boutoutaou, 77th). Coach: Vincent Hognon.
