6pm 17 February 2024
France, Championnat National 3, Group H
Montrouge FC 92 3 CA Vitry 0 (att 200)
Football wasn’t the motivation for a five night break in Paris. Had it been I wouldn’t have picked a weekend when the city’s teams who play in France’s top three divisions, PSG, Paris FC, Red Star and Versailles, were all away.
I chose this fifth tier fixture as the venue, Stade Jean Lezer, was a short and simple Metro ride from our Montparnasse hotel.
It’s an artificial pitch with an elevated seated stand, underneath which are changing rooms, a clubhouse and a snack bar. The rest of the perimeter is flat paved standing, with just a small grassed area behind the dugouts on the far side.
With the sides filling two of the bottom three places in the league my expectations for the game were low. But with, surprisingly, no charge for admission at least I’d have no complaints about value for money.
It turned out to be a thoroughly absorbing game. There was little between the sides until a 31st minute direct free kick found the bottom corner beyond the diving goalkeeper. The keeper sustained an injury in his attempt to keep the ball out and took no further part in the game.
Vitry came close to an equaliser when a shot hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced close to the goal-line, but not over it. There were no more first half goals.
In the second period Vitry continued to look more likely to score, while Montrouge defended and attempted to hit on the break. The game’s second goal would be crucial.
The home side go it, after 65 mins, and a third quickly followed to knock the stuffing out of Vitry. After that the away side never looked capable of recovering the game. Their evening got worse with a stoppage time red card for a reckless challenge.
The result wasn’t enough to lift Montrouge off the bottom of the league, but it keeps them in touch with the teams, including Vitry, who are just above them.
Comments
Post a Comment