For Samba Diawara and Stade de Reims, there was only one mission, only one possible outcome. They had to beat FC Metz, who finished third in Ligue 2 last season, and make sure that the ‘strongest team’ was respected.
After all, a place in Ligue 1 was at stake.
But they still had to put their heads together after a difficult end to the season, marked by a run of four games without a league win and a 3-0 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in the French Cup final last Saturday.
Against Les Grenats, who managed a 1-1 draw in the first leg of last week’s play-off, there was no room for doubt for the Champenois. Their start showed that they had done just that.
Ange Tia lights the fuse
More aggressive, more dangerous and surprisingly fresher than their opponents, Les Rémois set the pace. But the reward finally came on the hour mark. And it was 18-year-old Ange Martial Tia who finally scored his first professional goal, at the perfect moment. All the more reason to put a dent in a previously harmless opposition team.
But in such a context, knowing how to seize every opportunity is a virtue.
And just as the Messins had not attempted a single shot since the start of the match, their captain, Matthieu Udol, gave them hope, propelling his heavy shot into the back of Yehvann Diouf’s net, aided by the back of his direct opponent. It was another vital goal for the man who had already sent shivers down Saint-Symphorien’s spine a few days earlier.
Gauthier Hein unleashes his genius
The end of the match was as expected. Reims pushed forward, but Metz held out, as best they could. Enough to at least give themselves the right to dream for another 30 minutes.
And isn’t the best thing about dreams the fact that they can come true?
For FC Metz, in any case, it was the brilliant Gauthier Hein who made the dream come true, scoring a sumptuous goal to make it 1-2 before pulling off a move that only he knows how to do to seal Lorraine’s promotion – their seventh promotion in the 21st century.
