Caen and Dunkirk eliminated from entry, Auxerre and Dijon provide the essential
After the qualifications of Toulouse, Sochaux, Guingamp, Rodez or even Le Havre a little earlier in the day, other Ligue 2 teams generated their entry into the running on the occasion of the seventh round of the Coupe de France. For its debut, SM Caen crossed swords with Dinan-Léhon (National 3) near Saint-Malo. Deprived of Benjamin Jeannot, Caleb Zady Sery and Mehdi Chahiri, all injured, the Normans also generate surprise from the first moments through the defender Kevin Coiffic who opened the scoring (1-0, 4th). And if Stéphane Moulin’s men managed to equalize at the end of regulation time (88th), they would not be able to avoid a shooting session in the but very uncertain. In this game, the amateurs finally created the sensation (0-0, 4-1 at the tabs). After Ajaccio’s early elimination against Orléans on Friday night, Caen was the second Ligue 2 club to be surprised upon entering the competition and would be sadly imitated by Dunkirk. The space of a match, the USDL also traded the daily bread of Ligue 2 against a very tricky match against Linas-Montlhéry, a National 3 club which had its heyday in 2019, during a 32nd final lost to PSG (0-6). And the trend was going to be confirmed. Held in check at the end of regulation time, the Northerners finally bowed at the end of additional time (90 + 2nd) and left this Coupe de France early.
In the other matches scheduled for 6 p.m., the footballers of AJ Auxerre traveled to the Lyon region. The Ajaïstes faced FC Limonest Dardilly Saint-Didier, an amateur club which plays in N3. Surprised from the outset by Brian Feneuil who opened the scoring for the locals (1-0, 1st), the Auxerrois managed to reverse the situation thanks to Mohamed Ben Fredj (1-1, 25th) then Paul Joly (1- 2, 40e). Not enough to curb the ardor of Limonest who equalized just before the break through Yann Benedick (2-2, 43rd). Back from the locker room, Jean-Marc Furlan’s men still provided the essentials when Mohamed Ben Fredj gave the advantage to his family (2-3, 53rd) before offering himself a triple (2-4, 81st) to allow AJA to win (4-2) and validate their ticket for the next round. Finally, an abyss separated Dijon, resident of Ligue 2 and Saint-Apollinaire, playing in National 3, the equivalent of the 5th division. If the small club of the Dijon agglomeration had the ambition to put down the big brother of Dijon Football Côte-d’Or, which is more after the early red card received by Lucas Deaux (16th), it is indeed the men of Patrice Garande who took the best in this meeting. Thanks to an achievement by Valentin Jacob (42nd) and the double of Aurelien Scheidler (66th, 84th), the DFCO, outnumbered, nevertheless imposed quietly (3-0) and thus qualified for the rest of the competetion. Note also that the US Esquebecq (R2), one of the small thumbs of this Coupe de France, logically bowed to a glory of French football, the Red Star, recorded by Habib Beye. Despite a numerical inferiority to manage at the end of the game, the Audoniens, 15th in the National, won 3 goals to 1 and also advanced to the next round.
The full schedule of the Coupe de France