A great communicator, the president of the Var club Mourad Boudjellal, furious that the match was not played on his land, had cast doubt on the composition of the team that would go to Martigues.
The former boss of Rugby Club Toulonnais remained invisible on Saturday but Hyères finally fielded a real team, competitive and which sometimes poisoned the lives of the Marseillais.
But it was above all OM who complicated the task on their own by playing most of the match in numerical inferiority.
In the 15th minute, Eric Bailly indeed committed a terrible fault on Almike N'Diaye, left on a stretcher and evacuated by ambulance after seeing the foot of the Ivorian in the chest and at full speed.
Igor Tudor then had to reorganize his formation, with the exit of Issa Kaboré and the entry of Chancel Mbemba, initially preserved.
But in the end, even at ten, Marseille was superior to the Var amateurs, who still had several dangerous situations, with in particular a strike from their captain Mohamed Sahnoune on the post (55th).
In the small Francis-Turcan stadium in Martigues, transformed into an annex to the Vélodrome, OM were already leading 1-0 thanks to a penalty obtained by Under and transformed with a panenka by Sanchez (45+1).
In the second period, the break was successful by Bamba Dieng, who had hitherto missed a lot, launched well in depth by Guendouzi and too fast for Sahnoune (2-0, 71st).
OM have therefore escaped the trap into which they have often fallen in recent years in the Coupe de France and are continuing their journey in this competition, the club's real objective this season, now that the European games are over for them.
Above all, after two successes in L1 against Toulouse and Montpellier, this victory confirms that Marseille are back on the right foot after the World Cup.
The impression is to be confirmed on Wednesday in Troyes.
© 2023 AFP