Extremely shaken by the Corsicans in the early stages of the game, the Aiglons were able to react quickly, but were unable to make the most of playing for nearly half an hour against 10 men in order to get the victory.

After 21 games in Ligue 1, the number of losses remains at one. But, once again struggling with  several absentees, the Red and Blacks drew a third consecutive match in Ligue 1 (after Bordeaux and Metz).  On the difficult pitch of Furiani, Lucien Favre’s men were expected by their opposition. They knew it and their hosts wouldn’t take long to show them that the word ‘derby’ has not lost its significance.

Well organised in a very defensive 5-4-1, Bastia pressed effectively in order to hamper the Nice counter. This pressure and the terrible playing surface led the Niçois to make errors, which led to a lot of misplaced passes and poor control. Benitez was called into action after two minutes when he saved impressively from Danic, following a mistake from Souquet. However, Oniangue took his chance following a blocked shot (17’) and an error from the Nice defence led Benitez to be wrong footed by the deflection from Dalbert.

The Red and Blacks dominated possession (70% after 30 mins) but couldn’t put Leca’s goal under any real pressure. A shot from Cyprien from 35m showed this weakness as the Nice side were unable to break down the solid Bastia defence. This season, however, the Gym have added a new string to their bow and have improved their set-piece work (28% of their goals compared to 18% last year). From a corner, Souquet cut across the near post and got his head onto the cross from Cyprien, getting his side back into the game (1-1, 33’).

1-1 at the break, the score was relatively flattering for the Gym. In the second half, the Red and Blacks came quickly out of the blocks. Balotelli got onto the end of a cross from Dalbert, controlling on his chest, before prodding it towards goal. But Leca was in the right place to make the save (48’). Diallo replicated shortly after by shooting over (49’), and that was… the last real opportunity for the Corsicans. 

With a numerical advantage, too few opportunities

The passing from the Niçois was more effective and the Bastia captain Yannick Cahuzac committed two bad fouls in less than ten minutes, firstly on Balotelli and then on Cyprien, which left his side with a numerical disadvantage.  Down to ten against the joint-leader of Ligue 1, François Ciccolini and his side hoped to see out the draw. Even though the Gym would go on to control the rest of the game, they would be unable to create the quality opportunities needed. Cyprien (72’), Walter (74’), Balotelli (82’ and 90+1’) tried their chances but without really troubling Jean-Louis Leca.

The Aiglons will take home a deserved draw, with however a feeling that they could have done more. In order to remain in the title race and not to let their opponents back into it, Nice will need to take all three points against Guingamp next Sunday, with a squad that should be boosted by numerous players returning from injury.

A.D.

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