“It will be a great party and the magic of the Coupe de France will do the rest”, in Occitanie the 5th round of the national competition on the program

L’équipe d’Aimargues après sa victoire contre Marguerittes au 4e tour. Midi Libre – Eric Doladille

Entre le derby gardois déséquilibré qui verra s’opposer Aimargues et Nîmes, samedi à 17h et les matchs de dimanche à 15h, la Coupe de France devrait tenir toutes ses promesses ce week-end.

The poster: Aimargues (R2) – Nîmes Olympique (N)

For Nîmes Olympique, this is the shortest trip of the season, and on paper the easiest. On paper only, since participating in a Gard derby for its entry into the competition is not easy. Saturday from 5 p.m. and probably for a few hours before in this village of 6,000 inhabitants, the party will be great at the René-Dupont stadium to see the professional players of Nîmes try to get away from its opponent of the day, the Stade Olympique Aimargues which plays four divisions lower and which will have absolutely nothing to lose. Unlike NO.

The shocks

Several clashes between Regional 1 and National 3 teams will liven up this fifth round of the Coupe de France in Occitanie. Among them, the trips of Stade Beaucairois (N3) in Aude to the pitch of FU Narbonne (R1) and RCO Agde (N3) in the Pyrénées-Orientales to the pitch of Saint-Estève Perpignan (R1). Unlike the Gardois and the Héraultais, Olympique d'Alès in Cévennes (N3), who beat Aigues-Mortes 3-0 in the previous round, will have the advantage of being home. Facing the OAC, the Haut-Garonnais of Balma (R1) will have to put in a great performance if they want to continue their adventure.

Great stories to write

For several years, the Langlas stadium in Anduze has been used to unbalanced Coupe de France matches. On December 3, 2017, Nîmes, then 2nd in Ligue 2 and promoted to Ligue 1 at the end of the season, painfully beat the locals (1-3) then residents of Regional 2. This time, Anduze (R3) welcomes, Sunday (3 p.m.), the Toulouse club Rodéo FC: “We eliminated three lower level teams and Lunel (R1) in the previous round, explains president Bernard Maurand. We are moving towards this 5th round in a relaxed manner. We do not know this Rodéo team but we tell ourselves that it is playable. We have regularly managed to beat lower level teams, like Saint-Clément Montferrier (N3), last year, for example."

The day before, kick-off at 6:45 p.m., Saint-André-de-Sangonis (R3) will face a similar situation against Muret (Haute-Garonne, R1). Except that it is a first for the Hérault club. Not enough to scare coach Nicolas Douillet: “We achieved a great performance by beating Montpellier Petit Bard, one of the best teams in R2, on their home ground in the fourth round. We are first in the championship and we are on a great dynamic. It will be a great celebration for the club and for the village, the magic of the Coupe de France will do the rest. We believe in it, we are fully confident, we have nothing to lose."

Golden opportunities

The only departmental level club still qualified between Gard and Hérault, Sussargues (D1) has inherited an affordable draw with the reception, Sunday (3 p.m.) at the Jules-Rimet stadium of Semeac, a R3 team in the Hautes-Pyrénées. “It's an opportunity to welcome people, fill our 500-seat stand, hopes the president of the FCSB, Christophe Bayle. And to move on to the 6th round for the second time in the club's history. In 2008-2009, I was the coach of the team that played in D3, we eliminated Portiragnes (R2) in the 5th round before losing to Clermont-l'Hérault."

In addition, two duels between Regional 2 teams are as many chances for the teams concerned to go through an additional round. The Gardois of Bagnols Pont host the Aveyronnais of Conques while the Héraultais of Lattes welcome the Tarn-et-Garonnais of Bressols. Kick-off 3pm.

Programme

Saturday (5pm): Aimargues (R2) – Nîmes Olympique (N)
Saturday (6pm): Narbonne (R1) – Beaucaire (N3), Béziers (R1) – Lavaur (R2), Alès (N3) – Balma (R1), Blagnac (N3) – Montauban (R3), Pibrac (R2) – Bassin d’Aveyron (R3), Pamiers (R2) &ndash Saint-Jean (R1)
Saturday (6:45 p.m.): Saint-André-de-Sangonis (R3) – Muret (R1)
Saturday (7 p.m.): Comtal (R2) – Alberes/Argeles (N3), Marival (D1) – Colomiers (N3)
Saturday (8 p.m.): Saint-Orens (R3) – FC 2 Rives (R1)
Sunday (3 p.m.): Lattes (R2) – Bressols (R2), Claira/Saint-Laurent (R3) – Tarbes (R1), Sussargues (D1) – Semeac (R3), Bagnols Pont (R2) – Conques (R2), Racing Perpignan (D1) – Grau-du-Rou (R1), Saint-Estève Perpignan (R1) – Agde (N3), Trèbes (R3) – Biars Bretenoux (R1), Bruguières (D3) – Canet-en-Roussillon (N3), Anduze (R3) – Rodeo (R1)

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