Franck Honorat had a goal and an assist against his former club AS Saint-Etienne as Stade Brestois 29 pulled up to 12th with a 4-1 win at the Stade Francis-Le Blé.
Stade Brestois 29 4-1 AS Saint Etienne
THE MATCH
The game was less than 10 minutes old when the winger latched onto Irvin Cordona's pass and fired home his third goal in 10 games - five of them starts - high beyond Jessy Moulin in the visiting goal (7'). Brest captain Jean-Kévin Duverne then made it two, heading home from Romain Faivre's corner (23'). ASSE pulled one back thanks to Mahdi Camara, who got the break of the ball in the Brest box following a Ryad Boudebouz free-kick (30'), but with Romain Hamouma suspended, les Verts largely lacked any attacking spark, and Brest were 4-1 to the good before the half was out with Honorat returning the favour for Cardona (33') before Steve Mounié effectively put the fixture to bed with another header from a Romain Perraud cross (38').
Cruise control
Saint-Etienne coach Claude Puel rung the changes at the break, with defenders Mathieu Debuchy and Miguel Trauco and forward Arnaud Nordin entering the fray (46') Two of the substitutes combined early in the half when Debuchy found Nordin in the area, but the youngsters's header sailed wide of Gautier Larsonneur's post (52'). Adil Aouchiche later replaced Boudebouz for Sainté (73') and wasted little time in making his presence felt, sending a shot fizzing towards goal that Larsonneur had to save in instalments (77'). With such a first-half cushion, Brest looked content to sit deep and soak up the pressure, though. A late Nordin set-piece came to nothing (90') and les Pirates held onto a 4-1 win which was anything but stolen.
THE PLAYER: Franck Honorat
Honorat will have enjoyed this victory more than most. An OGC Nice youth product, the 24-year-old most recently had a frustrating two-year spell on Saint-Etienne's books. Three assists in 12 Ligue 1 Uber Eats games last season hinted at his potential, but it is now Brest who are benefitting from what looks like the former France Under-19 international hitting his prime.
THE STAT: 14
With their first-half flurry, Brest have now scored 14 goals in the first half of games in this season's Ligue 1 Uber Eats campaign. No team in the division has managed more.
