FC Pionsat St Hilaire are desperately in need of points to keep alive their faint hope of avoiding relegation to Division 2. And today they were playing against Chatel-Guyon, currently top of the Division and likewise desperate for points to keep the chasing pack at distance.
Pionsat had a very-much scratch team out there today too. Blond Frederic was in goal for only the second time in his life, and with Fabien, Vincent and Kevin out there, they had three players who ply their trade in Division 4. Cedric was playing centre-half too.
As you might expect, Chatel-Guyon had 99% of the play and dominated the match from start to finish. But the Pionsat defence was resolute and I can safely say that Cedric at centre-half had the match of his life. With Julien alongside him and Alex just in front, they were totally inpenetrable and when Chatel-Guyon did manage a shot on target, they found Frederic in fine form.
Pionsat rarely managed to get forward in anything like enough numbers to threaten the Chatel-Guyon goal and for much of the match their goalkeeper was actually playing as a sweeper behind his defence.
But Matthieu Sikorsky came ohhhh so close with one effort and it was only the desperate outstretched fingertips of the keeper that stopped Matthieu from pulling off a shock goal well against the run of play late in the first half.
That would have been oeuf sur le visage of the Chatel-Guyon defence if that has gone in.
It was still 0-0 with just minutes to go and Pionsat, in a breakaway upfield, win a corner. The ball is easily cleared out but the clearance is intercepted by a Pionsat defender who plays it back up to the other Frederic who is about 30 yards out from goal.
He advances on the goal with the ball and as the keeper, who is miles upfield from where he should be, back on his own 6-yard line, tries to stop him, Frederic simply lifts the ball over the top and into the net for probably the most astonishing goal against the run of play that I have ever seen.
The silence in the stadium was overwhelming. All of the possession that Chatel-Guyon has had during the match and here they are, 1-0 down in the closing stages of the game.
But look where the goalkeeper is. What on earth is he doing 30 yards out of his goal? It’s a suicide position for any goalkeeper.
Chatel-Guyon now throw caution to the winds, bring on a few pairs of fresh legs and throw the kitchen sink at Pionsat. And they win a penalty, which they convert to level the score.
But they need all of the points here and they fight for everything, to such an extent that the Chatel-Guyon n°14, who has only been on the field for a minute, makes a horror late-tackle on Kevin which earns him a yallow card.
The referee has hardly put his yellow card back in his pocket before the n°14 does exactly the same thing again, on Alex this time.
This leads to a little unpleasantness on the field from one or two of the Pionsat players which is always regretted but in this case understandable, but the result is that the referee pulls out the red card and the n°14 goes for the early bath. And quite right too, because it really was deplorable.
Just after this, the final whistle blows and Pionsat come off the field having earned a most unexpected point. And if the defence plays like this for the final two matches then anything is possible.
What made things even better was that St Priest, who were at home to Lempdes Sports, were stuffed 7-0. This means that Pionsat are out of the bottom 2 – for the first time for ages and ages. Only on goal difference, it has to be said, and their last two games are difficult, but they have their noses now slightly in front and it’s up to St Priest to try to catch them.
I also saw Xavier there. He used to play for Pionsat but his working commitments nowadays mean that he can’t make the matches. It was good to catch up with his news.
Apart from that, Rosemary is back in the Land of the Living and we had quite a lengthy chat. I’m invited round for coffee sometime, when I can catch up on all the latest gossip.
However, I should perhaps mention that being on the coffee at the footy last night, and having some chocolate when I came home, it was gone 05:00 when I went to bed last night, or, rather, this morning. Something of a waste of my Sunday lie-in.
