Apathetic for a good part of the match, despite the enthusiastic support of nearly 25,000 spectators, the Canaries were able to count as often on goals from Ludovic Blas and Randal Kolo Muani, but also on the clumsiness of the Bastia attackers and the vigilance of their goalkeeper. Remy Descamps.
At the bottom of the hole on February 10, 2021, when President Waldemar Kita ended the strange parenthesis Raymond Domenech to call the firefighter Kombouaré, the Nantes people are now well settled in the middle of the L1 table and are only one step away. Stade de France game.
And PSG, which had blocked their way in the semi-finals in 2019 (3-0), is no longer in the race.
Kombouaré's men immediately took an option on the match: jostled at the entrance to the surface, Kolo Muani obtained a penalty after 40 seconds, which Blas took charge of transforming with an unstoppable strike under the transverse (1-0, 3rd).
But the Canaries then quickly retreated in defense, no longer creating play and putting themselves in danger at the back with a series of approximate passes.
Much more enterprising and supported by nearly 400 supporters arriving on two charter flights, the Bastiais failed to take advantage of a succession of opportunities to equalize.
For lack of inspiration in the last gesture, but also because of Descamps, who intervened against Benjamin Santelli (9th, 38th, 43rd) and Julien Le Cardinal (16th), before seeing his right post repel a shot by Christophe Vincent (27th).
In the second half, Nantes began to hold the ball and approach the Bastia goal, thanks in particular to several breakthroughs from Moses Simon.
Nantes midfielder Ludovic Blas (g) beats Bastia defender Lloyd Palun in the Coupe de France semi-final on February 10, 2022 in Nantes LOIC VENANCE AFP
And they finally took shelter when the Bastian goalkeeper Johny Placide pushed back a cross from Blas on a Kolo Muani forgotten in the area and who had plenty of time to arm his shot (2-0, 71st).
For Bastia, who dreamed of a new semi-final 30 years after the tragedy of Furiani (19 dead and more than 2,300 injured), it is a hard return to reality of the fight to maintain L2 (17th).
© 2022 AFP