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Dijon finish with a flourish

Dijon finish with a flourish

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Publish on 05/18 at 00:00 - S. WILLIS

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Julio Tavares' second-half strike ensured Dijon FCO ended a successful campaign on a high note with a 2-1 win over Angers SCO in Saturday's Ligue 1 Conforama finale.

  Dijon FCO 2-1 Angers SCO 

THE MATCH
Dijon had enjoyed their campaign, but had seemed to run out of steam in recent weeks with three losses in their last four games. They needed a slice of luck to turn things round and got one from their generous visitors.

Naïm Sliti slipped silkily between two defenders before shooting — Angers defender Pierrick Capelle tried to block the shot with his foot, but only succeeded in diverting it into Ludovic Butelle's net (22').

Angers' top scorer, Karl Toko Ekambi, might have brought his team level before the break, but forced a fine save from Baptiste Reynet (44') and then failed to finish when through one-on-one, being caught by Papy Djilobodji (45') as he sought an 18th goal of a bountiful campaign.

The Cameroon international was involved to help bring the visitors, who had won just one of their last six games, level. Despite the presence of Djilobodji, Toko Ekambi picked out Flavien Tait, who finished clinically (53').

A Lassana Coulibaly first-time shot forced another Reynet save (55') before Tavares restored Dijon's lead. The Cape Verde forward ended a six-game drought by firing past Butelle after Sliti's impressive run and pass had teed him up for his 12th league strike of the season (75').

THE PLAYER: Baptiste Reynet
Along with Montpellier's Benjamin Lecomte, the Dijon goalkeeper is one of Ligue 1 Conforama's unsung heroes. Dijon's defensive record would have been much worse without him.

THE STAT: 11
Dijon finished 11th, improving their club record of 16th, which they set last season. The 2017/18 campaign, which was only the club's third-ever top-flight season, saw them end on 48 points, 11 more than they managed last year.


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