On the lawn of the MMArena in Le Mans, Khalid Boutaïb, all smiles, embraces Vincent Demarconnay.
The two "old" who will celebrate their 35 and 39 years in April are the two key men of the very big blow of Paris FC against AC Ajaccio (2-0) which allows them to seize 2nd place.
A week after his surprise transfer from Le Havre (L2), Boutaïb did not miss his premiere in his new colors.
Involved in both goals - decisive pass for Gory, deflection for Guilavogui who obtained the penalty - the Moroccan international showed in the space of 90 minutes what he could bring to the offensive animation of Paris FC.
If he weighs and serves as a point of attachment, he is also capable of playing in 9 and a half and serving his teammates.
"The contract is fulfilled, we saw a united and combative team, that's what we have to rely on," said Boutaïb.
On the field of Le Mans against Ajaccio, Khalid Boutaïb has already shown that he could be very useful to Paris FC, his new team.
Icon sport/Anthony Bibard Icon Sport
Thierry Laurey was delighted with the contribution of a player with whom he has already experienced two promotions to L1, with Gazélec Ajaccio (2015) then Strasbourg (2017).
“He did the dirty work, he took some beatings, but we have already seen why we had him come, underlines the Paris FC coach.
The observation that we made with my leaders is that we lacked a bit of experience.
Khalid like Jo (Iglesias) are player profiles that you need when you play at the top of the table.
They have already experienced climbs, they bring the bottle to the group.
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In six days, Vincent Demarconnay has achieved two huge performances.
Last Tuesday, when Auxerre were leading 1-0, he avoided a second goal against Gaëtan Perrin.
Paris FC then reversed the match (2-1).
This Monday evening, he first won his duel against Gaëtan Courtet (35th) before making a monstrous save on the head of the center forward of AC Ajaccio (51st) when the score was 0-0 .
On the other hand, its trademark, Paris FC then stung on a quick exchange Boutaïb-Gory.
"Me, I'm here to delay the deadline, I managed to keep the team in the game", welcomes Vincent Demarconnay.
While his understudy, the Croatian Ivan Filipovic, produced two big performances before the break against Lyon and Amiens, the most capped player in the history of the PFC shows that he will be difficult to dislodge.
"The old one is aging well," smiles Laurey.
He kept us in the game.
But that's happened twice… If we can prevent him from making miracle saves in every game, that would be good.
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🔚 𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗜𝗥𝗘 🔥!
3 points.
2nd place in @Ligue2BKT.
What more ?!
🤷♂️😍
🔵⚪#TeamPFC #PFCACA pic.twitter.com/vsa54qLTik
– Paris FC (@ParisFC) February 7, 2022
“Certainly, we are on a good dynamic but when we dig a little, we see that for two games, our best player is our goalkeeper, continues the coach.
That's why we have to remain lucid because, in Auxerre, we could have been down 2-0 and against Ajaccio, 1-0.
We still have to improve the defensive aspect.
I'm happy, we're happy but it's when we're happy that sometimes we flutter.
We must therefore remain vigilant and always seek to progress.
Second after 23 days, for me, it doesn't change anything.
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Vincent Demarconnay also remains measured: “Winning twice in one week against direct opponents is always good for confidence, believes the goalkeeper.
We are now two points ahead of Ajaccio, but there are still 15 games left, the road will be long…”