The Montpellier players break free against Saint-Etienne for a bitter-tasting victory

Faustine Robert, captain for one evening in the absence of Marion Torrent, broke the deadlock with a first goal before being a decisive passer for Léa Khelifi. Midi Libre – SYLVIE CAMBON

D1 Women/21st day The MHSC ends its season at home with a big success over Saint-Étienne, 4-0, which will make it regret the points lost along the way. He now has to defend 6th place in the general classification and it will be May 8, the last day, in Fleury.

It was a question of honor, pride, ego. After his tearful farewell to 4th place and to Europe, during the previous day and a bitter setback against Lille, conceded in stoppage time, Montpellier promised to ’ ;laquo; finish well » facing his audience. To also defend a 6th place, far from the mark, but coveted by Saint-Étienne. Mission accomplished thanks to a second period where the goal scored by Robert from the kick-off (46th) opened the gaps in a Saint-Etienne defense that was getting ahead of itself and overwhelmed. Until then, in the first period, she had contained the Hérault attacks well, with an effective double defensive curtain against Mondésir (5th, 35th), Blanc (16th, 21st) or this free kick from Robert carried away by an icy wind ( 10th). Offering some breakthroughs on the right side by Pierre-Louis and Mbadi. Or this shot from Caputo, alone at the 2nd post (37th).

Montpellier pierced the Saint-Etienne wall

At 1-0, Saint-Étienne let go of its guard, let its foot down, and the MHSC, thanks to its speed, its explosiveness, rushed in. On a shift from Ouchène, the leather runs to Robert on the opposite side whose center is taken with a diving header by Khelifi (72nd). Mondesir again, untenable last night, rushes to the left and strikes, deflected with a tap by Gignoux. Who can do nothing about a new breakthrough and a face-to-face match won by the Haitian international (80th, 3-0).
Barely entering the game, Gordon completed the mark with a 4-0 which ultimately left a bitter taste on this season. "A victory which shows that the team had better things to do this season. It’s a great victory but it also leaves some disappointment with the ranking specifies Yannick Chandioux. I am proud of my team today, who showed values ​​that I would have liked to see more often this season.

Technical sheet

Montpellier HSC beats Saint-Étienne, 4-0
À Grammont, Ouattara land.
Half time: 0-0.
Referees: Melles Vanderstichel, Rossignol, Dewost.
Goals for Montpellier: Robert (46th), Khelifi (72nd), Mondésir (80th), Gordon (90+4).
Warnings à Montpellier: Boureille (53rd), Mondésir (65th).
Warnings à Saint-Eacute;tienne: Champagnac (9th), Bataillard (37th), Mbadi (43rd), Lamontagne (48th).
MONTPELLIER: Morché – Levasseur, Lakrar, Mpomé, Louis (Gejl, 77th) – Boureille, Blanc (Gordon, 83rd), Ouchène (Bilbault, 83rd), Robert (cap.) – Mondésir (Coquet, 83rd), Ngueleu (Khelifi, 63rd).
Ent.: Yannick Chandioux.
SAINT-ETIENNE: Gignoux – Tapia, Mbadi (Browne, 63rd), Carage, Belkhiter (Job, 87th) – Bataillard, Champagnac (cap.), Pierre-Louis (Benera, 75th) – Lamontagne (Dowd, 87th), Otu, Caputo (Archier, 87th).
Ent.: Laurent Mortel.

Reaction from the coaches

Yannick Chandioux, Montpellier coach: "It’s a victory which shows that the team had better performance than before. do this season. It’s a great victory but also leaves some disappointment with the ranking. I am proud of my team today, because Saint-Étienne is a good team, and one that showed its strength. values ​​that I would have liked; see more often this season. A place in the rankings is important because we are competitors. It’s important to simply win matches. There is frustration with à our season because this evening, I saw beautiful things. We are a bit of an arbiter, but we will seek à win for us, Wednesday May 8 à Fleury who plays his place for Europe.

Laurent Mortel, coach of Saint-Étienne: "We have this moment of inattention just at the moment; the restart which opens the score. We had succeeded in achieving this goal. contain them until then. The difference is not in the depth of play of the two teams but in the freshness. The 3rd match in eleven days, we felt that we had failed. &agrav; this level there. Montpellier has quality players; who make the difference in races. We are not at home yet. equality &agrav; this level there. This is one of the limitations of the project when we have so many matches, we are missing something to go a little higher. It’s hard to take 4-0 à Montpellier. I can't wait to see the images again on the last goal which seems to me to be offside, & 1-0, there is a contentious action in the box for us… It bothers me. It bothers me to lose here 4-0. It doesn’t reflect at all what we are doing. We have one match left à At home, we have to pull ourselves together quickly, sixth place is still at stake. This will be representative of the work accomplished throughout this season.