“Redemption” operation for the MHSC against Saint-Étienne even if the first square seems far away now…

Against Lille, Montpellier was reduced to nine and then showed a rage and a conviction that will have to be reproduced in front of Saint-Etienne this Wednesday. Midi Libre – SYLVIE CAMBON

Montpellier Hérault SC hosts Saint-Étienne this Wednesday April 24 at 6:30 p.m. in Grammont for the 21st day of the championship. Almost eliminated from the race for 4th place, ahead of Fleury, Reims and Saint-Etienne, the MHSC put the ranking aside to concentrate on its game and offer a successful performance. He will then challenge Fleury (May 8) for the last match of the regular phase.

It would take more than a miracle to see Montpellier fulfill its first square objective in D1 Arkema; Fleury and Reims, who are ahead of the MHSC, would have to collapse during the last two meetings, and until now, it is first and foremost the players of Yannick Chandioux who have not knew how to raise their level of play when needed.

And it was not the reception of Lille and the setback conceded in the last seconds, nine against eleven, which could have given him regrets. "There is frustration with the (arbitration) decisions but I am not sure that it is the Lille match that should be highlighted. We dug into our situation. We did not do what was necessary upstream. Now, the key word is not to necessarily talk about the ranking. It’s just about being well connected and winning. Simply win. Because we cannot accept being in this situation underlines the Montpellier coach. I'm waiting for awareness. We have a lot to be forgiven with regard to the club, with regard to our obligations, our duties towards the president; we shouldn't be in that place, we have two matches to show another image.

"We have a lot to make amends for"

It’s a question of pride adds international defender Maëlle Lakrar. "When you are Montpellier Hérault, you have no right to be in 7th place behind Saint-Etienne. We work every day to be well ranked, tomorrow, we will give everything on the pitch to show that in these last matches, it was not Montpellier.
Another face, a rebound even if they will probably not allow you to jump three places. This is what will be expected this Wednesday for what should be the end of the season at Grammont against Saint-Etienne. A team full of confidence unlike MHSC, against whom Montpellier lost points in the first leg (1-1), as in Bordeaux two days later. Two poor performances which had more impact than expected with a team forced to run very early, too early, after the lost points. Which has worn out on the roller coaster terrain. "When you are struggling with your goals, cohesion and state of mind are always undermined. We must seek to reverse the trend. At times, we succeeded but we also fell back. With three matches that we lost in the 95th minute, due to seconds of inattention. We have hit the post nine times in our last ten matches. Not to mention the first part of the season. It’s too much! We missed too many things. The team is aware of this. Now, the objective is to show that the team is better, worth more.