After finding themselves quickly in-front thanks to a goal from Cyprien, the Gym suffered a lot and found themselves down to ten men for more than 20 minutes, but still managed to hold on and earn their first win away from home since the end of November.

In a bid to try to secure an away win after five frustrating games on their travels, Lucien Favre persevered with the 4-3-3 used in recent weeks, with two notable changes: Balotelli replaced the injured Plea and Mounir Obbadi celebrated his first start for the Red and Blacks.

Just as they did earlier in the season, the Gym would knock-out its opponent in the early stages of the game. From their first foray into the Lorient box, the Aiglons opened the scoring through Wylan Cyprien, who drilled neatly into the back of the net following some smart work from Souquet (15’). The goal already takes the Guadeloupe-born midfielder’s tally to seven goals this season.

Bottom of the table before the game, Lorient didn’t throw in the towel even after this early blow. Despite dominating the midfield, the Bretons barely posed any danger during the first-half. It was even Belhanda who proved to be most dangerous with an effort that was pushed away by Lecomte.

Returning from the dressing rooms, Lorient continued to dominate and the Gym were forced to defend deep in their own half.  Luckily the Aiglons could rely on an imperious Yoan Cardinale, who saved superbly from a header from Bellugou before Toure headed in from an offside position (55’).

Dominated in the possession stats for one of the very first times this season (45% possession), the Gym didn’t lose its potential to pose a threat. Following a quick break, Eysseric put Lecomte under pressure (65’). Already struggling offensively, the Niçois would finish the game with 10 men after referee Tony Chapron sent Mario Balotelli off in fairly confusing circumstances (69’).

There were only twenty minutes to play. Twenty minutes of suffering but also, and more importantly, of solidarity. To contain the attacks from the Bretons, Lucien Favre sent on Le Marchand and Donis to reorganise his team into a 5-3-1. Lorient tried everything, but Cardinale,  who had taken a knock to his right leg, was heroic in goal. His teammates formed a compact block in front of him which forced Lorient to try to go long. As Paul Baysse admitted after the game, this victory “brings a lot of positives to the values of the solidarity of the team”. With Monaco’s draw at Bastia and whilst waiting for the result of PSG (against Toulouse), the Gym did well to reduce the gap at the top of the table.

A.D.

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