Angers (AFP)

Is it the Kombouaré effect?

Volunteers from Nantes finally found success on Sunday in Angers (3-1), interrupting a series of 16 games without a win without leaving the red zone yet.

After the improbable Raymond Domenech parenthesis, Antoine Kombouaré succeeded Thursday to the former coach of the Blues with the mission of avoiding relegation to Ligue 2.

A style opposition between the former Nantes defender (1983-1990), who now coaches his 8th Ligue 1 team, and Stéphane Moulin, who coached his 400th pro match on Sunday since his arrival at the head of the Angers team in June 2011. During this same period, Nantes had 10 coaches (excluding interim).

"The players showed that they were not afraid, they offered play," said Kombouaré.

"The revolt, it's not because I arrived, it's because they became aware of the situation. I don't know if this victory will give us confidence, but it will give us a little of respite ".

With Abdoulaye Touré again captain and Nicolas Pallois on the bench, it took only 7 minutes for the Canaries to forget their ghostly performances against Lille (0-2) and Lens (2-4) in recent days.

They who had snatched a miraculous draw (1-1) in the first leg at the end of December can thank the Angevins, already authors of a failed start last week in Nice (2-0 in the 16th minute), even if they had inflicted the same rate on Rennes Thursday in the Coupe de France (2-0 in the 11th minute).

- Bamba again -

Sunday, it is Souleyman Doumbia who was guilty of a bad recovery on the opening of the score of Moses Simon, well found by Ludovic Blas (0-1, 4th), and who made a mistake on Blas in his surface, which allowed Imran Louza to shelter his people from the penalty spot (0-2, 7th).

Despite this advantage, the Nantes, not at best on a complicated ground, retreated and conceded a penalty, by Touré, in turn at fault on Doumbia.

At first, Alban Lafont repelled Sofiane Boufal's shot, but the referee had it withdrawn because Andrei Girotto, who intervened after the shot, had entered the box too early.

New penalty, new shooter: Thomas Mangani reduced the score (1-2, 33rd).

After the break, the Angevins took the game to their own and Boufal, after eliminating four opponents, found the bar of Lafont (50th).

Although domineering, Stéphane Moulin's players did not manage to be dangerous.

Finally, it is even the Nantes people who took shelter on a counter through Kader Bamba (3-1, 86th), missed the start of the season, forgotten by Domenech and already author of a doubled Wednesday against Lens.

Despite this success, the Canaries remain 18th and play-offs, but return to 1 point from Lorient, before a necessarily complicated match next week against Marseille.

© 2021 AFP