AS Saint-Étienne inched closer to earning promotion to Ligue 1 after their 2-0 win over Rodez AF in the Ligue 2 playoff final on Friday night at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
In the first 45 minutes, Rodez withstood the barrage of shots they faced from Saint-Étienne. The home side recorded 17 total shots in the first half but couldn't find the back of the net as both teams headed into the dressing room in a scoreless deadlock.
Following a disappointing first half from Les Sangs et Or, where they only registered two total shots, Didier Santini and his team bounced back in the second half with eight total shots. Still, the team couldn't find the back of the net.
On the other side, Les Verts registered ten total shots in the second half and finally broke the scoreless deadlock courtesy of a goal from Irvin Cardona in the 64th minute to take a 1-0 lead. Nathanaël Mbuku added an insurance goal in second-half stoppage time to make it 2-0.
90e+6 : ✌️ C’est ter-mi-né et c’est mérité ! Direction les barrages, TOUS ENSEMBLE ! 👊
— AS Saint-Étienne (@ASSEofficiel) May 24, 2024
💚 2-0 🟡 #ASSERAF pic.twitter.com/358H33ylRD
Olivier Dall'Oglio and his team are now 180 minutes away from punching their ticket to play in Ligue 1 next season. FC Metz remain Saint-Étienne's last major hurdle that can prevent them from playing in France's top flight in the 2024-25 campaign.
Metz finished 16th this season and will need to turn the page on losing their last four league matches if they want to remain in Ligue 1. Saint-Étienne didn't have a good end to the season, but with their win over Rodez in the playoff final, they're riding positive momentum.
The first leg of the promotion/relegation playoff tie between Metz and Saint-Étienne will be on May 30th and then the return match will occur on June 2nd.
>>NEWS: All You Need to Know: Promotion/Relegation Playoff Tie
