France May 2009

Kezman converts.

Le Mans 0 Paris St Germain 1

A two hour TGV ride from Paris to Le Mans.



And a good turnout saw the visitors from the capital secure a win to please their support.
Their fans were positioned mainly in two pens (Boulogne and Auteuil ?) at one end and they produced plenty of flares - their Le Mans counterparts plenty of smoke.



PSG tended to dominate and probably should have got more than just the one goal slotted by Kezman.



Other familiar names such as the promising Sessegnon , Luyindula , Rothen and a certain Claude Makelele were in the Parisian team.




Brilliant Malenga.

Chateauroux 1 Clermont 0

via Paris to Chateauroux for a Ligue 2 game that was to move the home side out of the relegation zone.

The stadium is a reasonable size with similarly covered stands on all 4 sides.

Just a few fans came from Clermont including some bare chested 'ultras'.

It was generally a closely fought encounter that was determined by some brilliance from substitute Malenga - a superb over head kick.

He had changed the game not only scoring but also going close with a subsequent header.

The rest was even.


Two Savidan strikes.

Caen 2 Sochaux 0


Meanwhile in Normandy Caen feels more Anglo-Saxon despite the statue of Joan of Arc and a street named after William the Conqueror.
And the centre and chateau area is vibrant with plenty of bars and restaurants.

Nearly 19,000 throng the neat, two tier , enclosed stadium for this six-pointer with both teams near the foot of Ligue 1. The locals in the Normany Kop produce some reasonable noise to encourage their team.

In a closely fought first half Caen had a very good shout for a defender getting a red card as centre forward Savidan was brought down.
But Savidan would have the last word with two typical strikers goals in the second half. His thirteen goals make him one of the top scorers in France.

Dalmat did well for the visitors, including a free kick that clipped the bar, but otherwise Sochaux were well contained by Caen.
As a result of this defeat they drop into the bottom 3.




more pics at http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/112814054