Lacking inspiration, the Gym were knocked out of the Coupe de la Ligue by Guingamp, after a penalty shootout (0-0, 1-3 on penalties).

No matter the manner, the important thing in a direct knockout match is the result. The adage is known and has been proved on countless occasions. On Wednesday, there was to be neither the manner nor the result for the Aiglons, making the evening a rather unpleasant occasion. 

In the cold of the Plaine du Var, with just weeks of the calendar year left to go, the players seemed to lack energy. Strength. Desire. In a 3-4-3 at kick-off, with Patrick Burner and Racine Coly on the wings, Pierre Lees-Melou and Rémi Walter in the middle, Adrien Tameze and Danilo slightly further forward and Saint-Maximin up-front, the Gym almost shot themselves in the foot from the get go. But they, once again, were grateful for the seriousness and talent of Walter Benitez in order to stay in the match. Something that was the case for the whole of the evening, but unfortunately has its limits. The Argentine impressively pushed away a free-kick from Ngbakoto at the very start of the encounter (1’), then came out at 2000 km/h to deny Fofana (20’).

In attack, the Azuréens had a couple of chances, but were never really able to trouble their visitors. 

A smart bit of movement started on the right by Burner, moved left by Lees-Melou and crossed into the middle by Coly came to an end with an off-target volley by Saint-Maximin (6’). The very same "ASM" beat three opponents but struck too weakly (8’); Danilo’s header flew just over (37’) and his free-kick was pushed away by Caillard (41’), before the half-time whistle was eventually blown. 

Danilo tried his luck from distance (54') after returning from the dressing rooms, but without success. On the whole, the rhythm never came. No moments of greatness or creativity would arrive. Lacking inspiration and not tidy enough with the final ball, Nice tried to push forward, but with no luck, and relied on their final wall of defence to prevent any nasty surprises. Walter Benitez once again showed his talent, closing Coco down at his near post excellently, (67'), after the home side had lost the ball and were almost punished by a rapid counter from the visitors.

With half an hour to go, Patrick Vieira sent on Youcef Atal to replace Coly, and put Patrick Burner on the left. On his own, the Martinique born, attacked the centre of the pitch and let rip a powerful strike with his right foot, but saw it boxed away by Caillard (70'). Christophe Jallet missed his header from a corner (75'). Saint-Maximin’s shot was equally off target (80'). A penalty shootout, which seemed to be the deserved outcome of the encounter, became more and more likely. So the Gym tried their luck, but were held back by misses from Lees-Melou, Dante and Jallet. Guingamp didn’t miss one of their penalties and confirmed their ticket for the next stage of the competition.

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