FC Nantes boss Antoine Kombouaré was full of praise for Nigeria forward Moses Simon, who notched a last-gasp winner as Les Canaris came from behind to trump high-flying Lens 3-2 in the Ligue 1 Uber Eats Round 18 opener at the Stade de la Beaujoire on Friday night.
FC Nantes made it two wins in a row for just the second time this season on Friday night, but it very nearly wasn't, as Kombouaré's men had to come back from 2-0 down after David Pereira Da Costa (7') and Arnaud Kalimuendo (15') had done the damage early.
And while a brace from Randal Kolo Muani (49', 57') looked to have Les Canaris on track for a point, Nigeria forward Simon stepped up with a superb strike to take all three, and Kombouaré couldn't have been happier to see his side claim a first home win since Round 11.
Turning point
"Moses was going through a rough patch, just like the team, but he reacted like a great champion," said the Nantes coach of his star forward, who now has two goals and six assists for the season. "And it's a great source of pride for me to see the Beaujoire explode like that. There was a turning point in Lille with the penalty saved by Alban [Lafont, 1-1, 27 November], then we beat Lorient [1-0, 5 December] and now tonight, even though we hadn't beaten a team in the top five so far this season. Hats off."
The result takes Nantes up three places to provisional tenth, but the win has assured them of being at lowest 13th by the end of the round.
