FC Nantes coach Antoine Kombouaré believes Saturday’s 2-2 draw away to RC Lens will set his side up nicely for the upcoming Coupe de France final despite Les Canaris squandering a two-goal lead.
Nantes were cruising at half-time at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis after a Moses Simon double either side of Lens goalkeeper Jean-Louis Leca had them 2-0 up against 10 men. Yet they allowed their opponents back into the game in the second half and ended up having to settle for a draw.
“I am really satisfied because even though we were 2-0 up and had an extra man, the fact is that Lens deserved to come back and get a draw,” Kombouaré said. “I told the players not to be disappointed because we could have lost the game and instead we leave with a draw.”
Kombouaré, who was facing one of his former clubs, added: “Maybe we thought we had done the hard part and the game was over, and when you don’t respect the basics you get punished. Nevertheless I am pleased with the effort we put in. There are lots of good things to take from the game. It was good preparation for the final.”
Coupe de France target
The result surely ended any slim chance of Nantes qualifying for Europe via the league but they can now look forward to next Saturday’s Coupe de France showpiece against OGC Nice at the Stade de France. That will be the club’s first final since they last won the trophy in 2000, beating minnows Calais 2-1. They have not won a major trophy since claiming their eighth league title in 2001.
Meanwhile Lens coach Franck Haise expressed pride at his team’s performance after they once again claimed a result despite having a player sent off, just like in last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Paris Saint-Germain.
“To once again do what we did, after what we did last weekend in Paris and two weeks ago against Nice (a 3-0 win with 10 men), is impressive. Not many teams are capable of doing that,” said Haise, whose side are just two points outside the European places.
