Soccer. Defeat event of the female SM Caen: “we are well, thank you!”
By Sports Writing in Caen
Published on
After 27 wins and one draw, the Stade Malherbe Caen women’s team suffered the first defeat in its modern history – since the creation of the women’s section in 2019 – in the league, Sunday March 13, 2022. Penalized by “five individual errors”, the Caennaises fell heavily on the lawn of Cherbourg in Regional 1 ( 5-2). The announcement of this first setback had the effect of a real thunderclap in regional football.
I lived a rather atypical Sunday evening and Monday. The players had never received so many messages. People worried about us, I thank them. We are doing very good !
“We made a lot of people happy”
The tone is half-sincere, half-ironic with the Caen coach. “I realized that we had made a lot of people happy, she slips. Everyone expected only one thing, that Stade Malherbe loses. “Ultra-dominant for two and a half years, Caen logically had a target on his back. Its status as a professional club – just like QRM in the pool, clearly made it the team to beat. And yet…
We forget a little too much where we come from, who we are and what means are in place to get there. We have nothing more than the others, apart from being the Stade Malherbe. My players have the same life as other R1 players. I even think some have things we don’t have, like first wins.
“We are not superhuman”
The defeat conceded in the Nord-Cotentin is the occasion of a certain number of developments for Anaïs Bounouar. “We are a team that has just arrived in R1, she underlines. I have kids who trained once a week two years ago. Now it’s four times. I have an attack that is 18 years old. We lost three very good players to long-term injuries, we lost our goalkeeper. We had opposite elements in front of us. Therefore, the result may have an unexpected effect…
We are not superhuman. This match highlights everything we did before, which is exceptional and which is superhuman. When I saw my group again (Tuesday), I congratulated them for having maintained these fine performances for two and a half years. I also told my players that it was thanks to them that we had the right to jokers, like the one used last weekend.
A question of mental wear
After two and a half years of invincibility, “mental wear” ended up breaking the Caennaises. “We tired mentally more than physically, tactically or technically. It’s part of the game, you have to learn to lose. » After the meeting, Anaïs Bounouar’s message was clear: « you must behave like leaders who lose a match ». The next trip to Évreux, against whom Caen had won on a penalty in the 97ᵉ minute in the first leg, will be indicated as revealing of the character of this team. “The second round is coming. “The support that the Caennaises received from their supporters certainly helped them. “They showed a lot of kindness. You have to use positive things. »
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