ANALYZE. Ajaccio-Toulouse: meeting in Ligue 1
On behalf of the thirty-eighth and last day of the championship, disputed this Saturday evening, Toulouse FC lost in Corsica on a penalty half an hour into the game (0-1). Result: AC Ajaccio validated its rise.
A piece of sea, the mountains all around, brooded by a big blue sky. We quickly take a liking to the François-Coty stadium in Ajaccio. That’s good for Toulouse, who will have the opportunity to come back next season. In Ligue 1. By losing on the lawn of the Corsicans at the end of a tasteless performance, the Violets made the short scale to their opponent of the evening, who grabs the second and last ticket giving the right to a direct climb to the upper floor.
Diminished Violets
With 25 degrees at kick-off, in an idyllic setting, there was an air of vacation for the people of Toulouse present in the ACA enclosure. Certainly for the hundred supporters who came to encourage theirs for the last day, to win a point of honor in a season during which they will have been exemplary, in Toulouse and everywhere else. No doubt also a little for the players themselves, freed from two years of pressure after having validated their rise to Ligue 1 and the Ligue 2 title in quick succession, and having celebrated it with dignity. Certainly not, on the other hand, for the players of AC Ajaccio, who remained within gunshot of AJ Auxerre: in ambush, the Burgundians only had to wait for a misstep from the Corsicans while doing the job. at home against Amiens. They did it. But Ajaccio too.
Weakened by an influenza virus which had begun to circulate last Sunday in the Illustrious room of the Capitol (where the Toulousans presented the trophy) and which left several elements of the team on the floor, while most of the others played diminished , the TFC presented themselves against the Acéïstes with a reorganized team: exit Rouault, Sylla, Genreau, Ratao; make way for Logan Costa, Skyttä, Begraoui who could have put themselves forward. It was quite the opposite, with anecdotal, even worrying performances for Logan Costa, next to his pumps in the first period.
Not serene, it is he who is surprised by an aerial balloon; beaten in the race by Courtet, the defender who was celebrating his first tenure of the season made a mistake in wanting to come back. Penalty for Ajaccio, transformed by Nouri (1-0, 28th) under the eyes of an enthusiastic and unleashed public.
The revival of the TFC is complete
The Violets, however, had their moment. Without being frankly dangerous, they were the ones who dominated the start of the second period. But no one will have found the key to the best defense in L2 (19 goals conceded), not even Branco van den Boomen, desperate not to win the absolute record for assists in L2 (21), despite having tried a lot. After letting the embryonic storm pass, Ajaccio insisted, as the decibels rose and the minutes ticked away towards their return to the elite they had left in 2014. Maxime Dupé made his match with key saves (67, 76) and the ACA completed a match in its image: strong but without flights, quite the opposite of a bubbling TFC offensively throughout the season.
Two visions, two feet, which we will see again on the upper floor next year. In 2018, ACA and TFC crossed paths in the play-offs; the Violets to save their place in Ligue 1, Ajaccio to get there. The Tef had won twice; Gradel, Jullien, Sanogo and Durmaz had scored. It was four years ago, it was a century ago. The revival is over: see you in Ligue 1.