Too diminished, Brest failed to find the fault against Nantes who left Finistère with a 0-0 which satisfied them more than their opponent, Saturday, for the 32nd day of Ligue 1.
The Bretons (3rd) will have to wait for the result of the match between their pursuer Lille and Lyon, one of the teams in good form at the moment, on Monday, to really assess the value of this point.
With 57 units, Brest sees Monaco (61 pts) and 2nd place slip away, but with two steps ahead of the Northerners (55 pts), the latter will have to beat OL to dislodge them from 3rd place . For Nantes, on the other hand, after the defeats of the last three, Clermont, Lorient and Metz, this draw pushes back the specter of relegation a little.
Fourteenth with 33 points, they have four more than Metz (16th), play-off and the only team that can still catch up with them, even if, with the reception of Lille, then a trip to Monaco, the end of the season promises to be very arduous. Antoine Kombouaré’s men, organized this time in 5-3-2, have, in any case, obtained what they came for.
Combative and disciplined in defense, they were able to intelligently respond to the athletic challenge proposed by Brest, even if they also took advantage of the reduced offensive potential of the Bretons. Deprived of their coach Eric Roy, relegated to the stands for having received too many yellow cards, the Finisterians also lost their two main players in the first period.
Uncertain all week, struggling with a calf, but finally established, Pierre Lees-Melou left his team in the 28th minute, followed 13 minutes later by winger Romain Del Castillo, also injured in a calf. Two absences which, if they continue next Friday for the reception of Reims or in Toulouse, for the last day, could harm the club in its quest for a podium, especially since the left side Bradley Locko will be suspended for the 34th day.
Locko was also the red player who had the best opportunity with a very good shot from 20 meters but Alban Lafont judiciously boxed out of the frame (9th). Kombouaré had also asked his players to be “courageous” with the ball and if any team could have won at Francis-Le-Blé, it was Nantes.
Mathis Abline, who had scored valuable goals upon arrival on the Kanak bench, who revived him, this time missed two huge opportunities. In the 40th minute, at the end of a solitary drive where he had eliminated three opposing defenders, on the left of the area, he curiously preferred the outside of the right rather than the left foot to poke his ball, narrowly missing the target .
Two minutes later, he even managed to dribble past Marco Bizot, this time on the right, but while he had the goal open, he sent the ball into the Finistère sky. In the second half again, Nantes had the best opportunity on a fleeing cross from Mostafa Mohamed, who entered shortly before, but Tino Kadewere, who had thrown himself headlong, failed to recover correctly (84th).
No doubt these missed opportunities explain why the people of Nantes welcomed the end of the match without ostentatious displays of joy. But if they show the same self-sacrifice over the next two days, there is nothing to say that they will not still be able to keep the clock ticking.