Intratable defensively for 80 minutes on Domec’s lawn, the Carcassonnais made their task easier to rule out Albi and spin in the National semi-finals to join the Racing Club Narbonnais next Saturday (7 p.m.) at the Sports and Friendship Park.
To win a match, you have to score a point more than the opponent. When you take zero like the USC, Saturday afternoon against Albi, you easily open the way to success. “It will not be a match at 30 or 40 points”prophesied the Carcassonnais manager Bernard Goutta. Perhaps the Catalan technician knew in advance that his foals would put the barbed wire on this sunny spring afternoon, at the foot of the city.
The first offensive inclinations were to credit the Albigensian Sporting Club. The Tarnais melee half -Queheille scrum put a lot of speed to try to find the fault. Certainly worked in pre-match video, visitors used returns in the closed side, betting slow replacements of tired players. Théo Sauzaret, Gary Graham or Raphaël Carbou were vigilant and increased their stats to tackles in the first act. Étienne Herjean on a good scratch, rewarded the Carcassonnaise defense for the first time and obtained a penalty converted by Gaëtan Pichon (7th).
Best defense of the championship
While the USC seemed to bend the spine following a beautiful Tarn movement in its 22 meters, Clément Egiziano, renowned for its inverted defense climbs, turned into a Savior when the opposing half of melee was overflowing Carbou and seemed to spin the test. A tube, a fallen ball, and a possession that fell in the Audoise bag, to be able to get out, wind in the back.
The yellow and black curtain showed only few weaknesses and when it opened exceptionally, the Albigensians did not neglect the blows well. “We really wanted to move them and we thought we could tire them so that after, secondly, they could crack”explained Théo Siboul, manager of the SCA, whose team turned to the break without the slightest point on the clock (18-0), faced with the best defense of National, ex aequo with Chambéry (37 tests conceded).
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In the second period, the Carcassonnais forwards were not going to weaken, and be sure to bury a first ball on Maul opponent, at the entrance to their 22 meters (41st). The penalty played five meters by the Tarnais could have put them back on the rails, but a combo between an Albigensian disagreement and a large Usceist climb led to an in front. “We do not crack, even on our line, they play a few strokes but we manage to catch them … I think it is energy, today, which makes us win, their way of being sure that anyway, we will defend our territory”analyzed Mehadji Tidjini, three-quarter coach of the USC, who can be satisfied with the defensive performance of his line led by a Jordan Pletua, who still likes to have the heating shoulders.
A 0-0 in the second half
“I find that today, the big positive point is the defensesavor a Paul Gadea, little successful at the start of the match but who knew how to get in tune during the game. We were very united and as we said all week, we had to attack them, it was the key point and we saw that as soon as they were putting them strong in defense, they fell the balls. “
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Impotence, this feeling that the Albigensians could have in the second period, deprived of ball, and when they put their hands on the leather, collided with the Carcassonian wall. Not as solid as that of the city, although … The return of Valentin Sese, immediately in the action by deploying his tentacles to annihilate a maul, or to chew a touch, allowed the protégés of the Domec stadium not to worry in the second act which ended on a 0-0. Since the establishment of the dams in the National, during the 2021-2022 season, it is the first time that a team (Albi) has finished Fanny, without scoring the slightest point in the meeting.
The show was elsewhere, in the gift of self in defense, even if some offensive oversights were able to hinder the Carcassonnais staff. “Even if we were humble in this match, we can harvest big opportunities because we want to bite, go too fast, without killing the match”, Explained Tidjini who knows that in Narbonne, next Saturday, the USC will have to take its realism in the luggage.
