The race for a place in N3 and survival is on for Regional 1 clubs

Dramé pour La Clermontaise a débuté sa saison par un but et une victoire en Coupe de France. Place désormais au championnat ! N.H.

Le mercato a été actif au sein des clubs de Régional 1, en quête de maintien… et plus si affinités. Coup d'envoi de la première journée ce samedi 7 septembre. 

It's back to school for the Regional 1 clubs this weekend, and for the seven Hérault teams placed in the same group A this season. ESC Montferrier, relegated from N3, is starting a new cycle of reconstruction, underlines its coach Jean-Michel Guzman: “We have kept a solid base of a dozen players, promoted a few youngsters from training and recruited youngsters in the making… It will take a little time and a lot of work to compete with the best… Unfortunately, the R1 which has improved with the reform of the competitions will not leave us much, so we will have to perform quickly».
Humility and determination will be the key words: «With certainly the smallest budget and in view of the strong competition, we have no pressure!"
Until the end in the fight to avoid relegation, Fabrègues has recruited around a new staff, led by Baptiste Duhau Marmon (Clermont). The objective of maintaining is advanced, "for a year of reconstruction with a new sporting project, a new dynamic."
At Gallia Lunel, Nicolas Le Bellec will play stability, driven by the culture of winning, from the first rounds of the Coupe de France. Don't give up, whatever the competition, while telling yourself that “promotion to National 3 is possible”.

First, ensure maintenance

Clermontaise was not far from it last season, which turned a page with the departure of Duhau Marmon and the arrival of Nicolas Guibal on its bench, other recruits (read opposite), the return from injury of Jérémy Fabre after a year of absence and the rise of the club's U20s Hugo Vallat and Enzo Penillo. “I like this team, says president Pierre Henry. If we keep the same state of mind as last year, we can have a good season. We saw the potential of the group in our preparation matches and it can play at the top of the table. But the group is very difficult and I remain cautious, let's first ensure the maintenance quickly."

A homogeneous group

Atlas Paillade will probably aim higher, like their second half of the season last season. Especially since they finished 3rd 2 years ago and 2nd last year, so…
AS Béziers will have to perfect their team and the integration of their recruits, winner by a small goal in the Coupe de France in Saint-Jean-de-Védas after a complicated record of friendly matches, according to Hugo Munoz. "This will allow us to clear our heads and get back on the right track." While ASB hosts Mende this Saturday.
In Frontignan, Greg Tanagro does not want to relive the “anxieties” of last season: "the objective will be to stay up, if possible sooner than last year when we gave ourselves a scare… We know that the group will be very difficult, all the teams have strengthened."

The movements

ATLAS PAILLADE: Departures: Yagousseti (Béziers), Bouhmala (RCO Agde), Akkerbich (Palavas).
Arrivals: Meschel (Fabrègues), Bensaidi (Frontignan), Lallaigui (Petit-Bard), Hakkar (Beaucaire), Abdeldjelil (Lunel).

AS BéZIERS: Departures: Vermorel (ESC Montferrier).
Arrivals: Bektas and Villa (Clermontaise), Ilias Hassani, Viguier (RCO Agde), Cros (SC Sète), Trujillo (Stade Lavallois), Yagousseti (Atlas Paillade).

< p>CLERMONTAISE: Departures: Baptiste Duhau-Marmon (coach, Fabrègues), Bektas and Villa (AS Béziers), Sowinski (Gignac), Vandamme and Eddahbi (Fabrègues), Ibanez (ESC Montferrier) .
Arrivals: Nicolas Guibal (coach, Le Grau-du-Roi), Enongwa (Juvignac), Saez (ESC Montferrier), Sturacci (Uzès), Karraoui (striker). Vallat and Penillo (club U20).

AS FABRÈGUES: Departures: Scala, Bouchité (Vauvert) , Rico and Vernhet (Lunel), Leroux (Agde), Meshel (Atlas Paillade), Moles (Montferrier).
Arrivals: Duhau Marmon (coach) and Campos (Clermontaise), Laugier, Alderig, Delmas and Fesquet (Frontignan), Anger (St Thibery), Moistopha, Eddabhi and Vandamme (Clermont), Nichele (Vendargues).
Jean-Luc Cianamea (new sports manager of club).

FRONTIGNAN: Departures: Jean-Fabrice Alderig, Loris Delmas and Antony Fesquet (Fabrègues) .
Arrivals: Sunny Cameler and Enzo Vidal (Balaruc) Sandro Pagès, Justin Vaurs (Aurillac), Karim Idha (Grau-du-Roi), Thomas Boudjemaa (RUW Ciney (D3-Belgium).

LUNEL GC: Departures: Timothy Cardona, Cheikh Dia. Arrivées : Crespin (gardien), Tison, Dugaret, Gregorio, D. Rico, Vernhet, Segura, Koura.

ESC MONTFERRIER : Départs : Belhadj, Mané, Ahaytar (Aigues-Mortes) Saez, Guilhem (Clermontaise), Hacquel (Agde), Vandanona (Sète), Pikulas (Châteauroux), Zogbo (Grèce), Bah (Bogny).
Arrivées : Moles (Fabrègues), Choquet, Giannitrapani (Castelnau), Sachot (La Roche-sur-Yon), Diomandé (Uchaud), Ibanez (Clermontaise), Vermorel (Béziers), Garnier (La Suze) Béziers – Mende, Stade de Sauclières
Clermontaise – Nîmes II, complex l’Estagnol
Frontignan – Esc Montferrier Lucien Jean stadium, 6:30 p.m.
Le Grau-du-Roi – Lunel, 7 p.m.