Dijon FCO 0-1 Angers SCO

THE MATCH

The game got off to an electric start with Dijon centre-back Bruno Ecuele Manga hitting his own post when attempting to clear Souleyman Doumbia's cross before Aurélien Scheidler had a goal ruled out for offside at the other end (1'). Wilfired Kanga was the next to come close, getting goal-side of Ecuele Manga's central defensive partner Wesley Lautoa and letting fly only to see Alfred Gomis turn the attempt out for a corner (12'). There was precious little the Senegal shot-stopper could do about the opener midway through the half, though. Sada Thioub raced past two markers and crashed an effort off the post, and Ismaël Traoré was on hand to score the first goal of the Ligue 1 Uber Eats season and his first since October 2018 (22'). Angers didn't have things all their own way and Dijon were only the width of Paul Bernardoni's post away from equalising when Jordan Marié struck from a tight angle (37') but the chance stayed out and the visitors carried a 1-0 lead into the interval.

Scheidler denied again

Dijon could have been forgiven for worrying where any goals might come from ahead of the game with Julio Tavares and Mama Baldé both nursing hamstring injuries, but Scheidler had the ball in the Angers net for the second time soon after the restart. It was a well-taken goal, but Eric Wattellier's whistled the youngster for offside for the second time (49'). Angelo Fulgini could have given Angers some breathing space when he found space in the Dijon box to meet a Thioub cut-back, but the No.10 fired straight into Gomis's gloves (61'). Both teams threw fresh legs into the fray for the run-in, Dijon bringing on Frédéric Sammaritano for Marié while Angers swapped Doumbia and Kanga for Enzo Ebosse and Casimir Ninga (68'). Sammaritano looked like he might make the biggest difference with a few dangerous balls into the Angers box, but the visitors we able to clear their lines. Ebosse then got involved at the other end, crossing for Farid El Melali, but the Algerian's header went over (80') and it ended 1-0.

THE PLAYER: Ismaël Traoré

This was a fine team performance from Angers but club captain Traoré also led by example at either end of the pitch. The Côte d'Ivoire international last scored when Angers drew 1-1 with Stade de Reims back in Week 10 of the 2018/19 season, but he took his goal with aplomb here. A Coupe de France finalist with the club in 2017, Traoré will be central to any designs Les Scoïstes may have of scaling similar heights again.

THE STAT: 91

Angers have now avoided defeat to Dijon in 21 of their last 23 meetings in all competitions - a 91 per cent success rate. They last dropped points to les Rouges back in May 2018, when a Pierrick Capelle own goal and Tavares strike helped the Côte-d'Or club to a 2-1 home win. Karl Toko Ekambi, recently a UEFA Champions League semi-finalist with Olympique Lyonnais, had led the line for Angers that day.