Tough Task For Tomorrow

I fear that for me this weekend will involve a forced break from tracking our surge back up the table (we can after all rise to 13th on the back of a victory at home to Carlisle and Orient turning over Wigan, if the games taken together produce a six-goal swing in goal difference) – unless my powers of persuasion climb to new heights. Saturday will see us drive over to outside Lyon for a birthday party for one of my partner’s brothers-in-law. The schedule apparently involves everyone leaving the restaurant by 16.00 French time (rather short for a French lunch I would have thought) and going back to the family home to continue. Now all I have to do is convince a majority (or a decent minority) of 15 French people that a dash back to be in time for the start of Charlton v Carlisle via the stream and to watch the game is the best option for us, as well as persuade my partner not to cause me serious harm as a result. The look of utter incredulity on her face when I first mooted the idea suggests that there is still work to be done.

So I might have to wait until the Fleetwood game before getting another dose of football. And that thought served as a reminder that the Cheltenham game was our last midweek/evening one of the season. Aside from a couple over the Easter weekend, it’s now Saturday to Saturday for us from now on. The downside is that we have to sit and watch to see if we get pulled back down the table as others use up their games in hand. The upside is that we really ought to benefit from being fresher than the opposition in our remaining games. Hopefully we can use that to our advantage.

The interlude for me provides a little space to update on the fortunes of my adopted French team, Lyon Duchere, as they vie for promotion back to National 2 (effectively the regional fourth division of the French football league system). They had topped the table from the start but predictably stumbled rather in the wake of the December statement issued by the club lauding their success (in the cup and the league). Nevertheless, at the time of my last update, after 13 games of the 26-game season Duchere were still top, having won seven and drawn five, scoring 22 goals and conceding nine. However, although the results remained good overall, they were then overtaken by a rampaging AS Saint-Priest, the team from the suburbs on the opposite side of Lyon (in the south-east), following a 1-1 home draw against FC Vaulx en Velin. Like Duchere, Saint-Priest were relegated from National 2 last season (although unlike Duchere – which took administrative relegation - this resulted from their standing in the league).

This paved the way for a top-of-the table clash in the 17th round of games, the match played at Saint-Priest’s Stade Jacques Joly stadium. The game began badly for Duchere and approaching half-time they were 2-0 down. But they pulled one back before the break and by all accounts (OK, the one on the Duchere site) were much improved in the second half, dominating play. The equaliser came in the 71st minute and apparently after that Duchere had chances to win but failed to take them, the match ending all-square.

That result means that Duchere stay in second place, two points behind Saint-Priest. Of the 17 games they have won nine, drawn seven, and lost just one, giving 34 points, with 28 scored and just 13 conceded (including four in one game). Saint-Priest have lost three but won 11 and drawn just three, scoring 39 in the process (ie more than two per game) and letting in 16. With nine games each to play it isn’t yet entirely a two-horse race (only one will be sure of promotion), but the nearest team which could go up (the division contains the reserve teams of top-flight clubs and they cannot be promoted) are four points adrift of Duchere. The next round will see Duchere at home to AS St Etienne 2 (ie St Etienne’s B team), which looks like a tough one as they sit in third place, while Saint-Priest will travel to bottom-ranked Ain Sud – although they recently held Duchere to a draw, so who knows?

So it is all to play for, even if Saint-Priest have to be considered favourites given their two-points advantage and better goal difference. Duchere’s season looks like going to the wire. Thankfully our does not; let’s just hope that still looks the case after the next couple of games. Now it’s back to that job of persuasion I have on my hands.