Frustrating!

The context

After last Sunday's narrow defeat at Lens, Eirik Horneland's Les Verts are back in action at home to Stade Brestois. Last season's surprise package, who are still in contention for a place in Europe this season, travel to Le Forez with the aim of catching Nice. Les Verts, meanwhile, are hoping to close the gap on Le Havre.

The XI

Dennis Appiah and Aïmen Moueffek return to the starting line-up on Sunday. The full-back plays alongside Maxime Bernauer, Mickaël Nadé and Léo Pétrot in the defensive line, while the club-trained player plays alongside Pierre Ekwah and Benjamin Bouchouari in midfield. The attacking trio of Davitashvili, Cardona and Stassin is once again in place.

👤 Le XI stéphanois pour #ASSESB29 ! 🆚

Coup d'envoi dans le Chaudron dans une heure ! 👊 pic.twitter.com/h5VpQ3kN97

— AS Saint-Étienne (@ASSEofficiel) April 13, 2025

The match

With the conditions typical of Brest, the visitors got off to a stronger start and put the pressure on Gautier Larsonneur's goal from the outset. The succession of corners (3rd, 5th) was well defended by Les Verts. But when Pereira Lage picked up the ball high up the pitch, the Brest man managed to get inside the box and feed Ajorque at the near post. The burly Brest striker slotted the ball past ‘Larso’ (ASSE 0-1 Brest, 6th). The next chance fell to former Les Verts striker Mahdi Camara. But his shot from the edge of the area went wide (15th). In response, Mickaël Nadé headed over from a corner and Lucas Stassin then sent in a left-foot shot to level the scores, with the help of the bar (ASSE 1-1 Brest, 17th). Camara's long-range effort was easily saved (22nd), as was Zuriko Davitashvili's a few seconds later (23rd). Les Verts had everything to play for again when, from a free-kick, the Green defence failed to deal with the ball, much to the delight of Sima, who headed over (ASSE 1-2 Brest, 25th). From another Les Vertes corner, Irvin Cardona cut inside at the near post to head home the equaliser (ASSE 2-2 Brest, 34th). The joy was short-lived, however, as Brest's first goalscorer, Ajorque, headed the ball beyond the reach of the Saint-Etienne keeper from a free-kick (ASSE 2-3 Brest, 37th).

After the break, Les Verts came close to breaking the deadlock but failed to trouble Gautier Larsonneur, who was either offside (50th) or off target (62nd, 64th). Baldé, who had just come on, took his chance on the volley and saw his effort hit the crossbar (74th). In the next move, Lucas Stassin searched between the lines for Zuriko Davitashvili, but Bizot's tackle far from his goal denied him (74th). A two-man free-kick between Zuriko Davitashvili and Pierre Ekwah put the latter in a position to shoot, but the ball flew wide. Thrown in behind the defence by Florian Tardieu, Irvin Cardona controlled superbly and lobbed the last line of defence perfectly to level the scores once again (ASSE 3-3 Brest, 80'). Les Verts were back in the game more than ever and the referee seemed to forget that Irvin Cardona had been awarded a penalty. After several corners and a long period of stoppage time, Zuriko Davitashvili saw his header hit the crossbar in injury time. In the final minute, Mahdi Camara forced Gautier Larsonneur to stretch. From the final corner of the game, the Chaudron shook, but Les Verts came through. Enough to take a point, but so frustrating not to have gone one better.

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Une publication partagée par AS Saint-Étienne (@asseofficiel)

Next

Next week, Les Verts play a match like no other: the Derby. Pending the day's final results, they are three points off the play-off spot. This means that when they host their rivals at 8.45pm on Sunday, it will be a game of immense importance, not just in terms of regional rivalry.