Habib Beye, coach of the first team, must have been delighted with the performance of Sébastien Tambouret's players, especially when he saw the intensity shown by Rennes to compensate for the difference in maturity against a Nantes side that was more like a Youth League team.
Despite the difference in level that was feared before kick-off, Rennes had what it took to overcome Nantes, adding a little luck to the mix, as captain Henrick Do Marcolino opened the scoring in the 4th minute with a shot from outside the box that was slightly deflected, enough to beat the goalkeeper. Stanislas Natiez was beaten a second time at the very end, powerless to stop Steeve Mvodo's penalty shot into the top corner after 95 minutes of a battle worthy of a derby.
Line-up Stade Rennais F.C. :
Mathys Silistrie, Florian Truffert (Dorian Fraeyman 72e), Isiaka Soukouna, Paolo Limon, Junior Aké (Ruben Lomet 85e), Chibuike Ugochukwu (Kenny Assignon 82e), Joël-Emmanuel Coulibaly, Henrick Do Marcolino (c)(Alexis Bernard 89e), Mohamed Chebbi (Steven Gerard Gaote 46e, Mervin Gbeme 82e), Steeve Mvodo, Kelvin Dongopandji (Erwan Traoré 72e)
Coach: Sébastien Tambouret
Goals : Henrick Do Marcolino (4e), Steeve Mvodo (90e+5)
Sébastien Tambouret's reaction
"A derby is never a trivial match. And the Challenge Espoirs is another dimension altogether; we give it a different level of importance. We love this competition because it offers an intensity and adversity that we don't necessarily encounter every weekend. Here, we understand why it was set up; it brings us closer to what exists a little higher up.
We were up against a team that is used to playing in the Youth League, the Champions League for young players. They are athletic and play with a lot of intensity. We had to at least match that level, which we were able to do for 55 minutes. Then they took the upper hand, but we were brave and showed solidarity without retreating too much. We also wanted to be proactive in case there were spaces left behind to go for a second goal, which we did well. We also needed talent to win this match, and we achieved our objectives."
