Unbreathable.
The Saint-Etienne and Auxerre supporters probably thought of calling their doctor as the thrill had to accelerate throughout this return barrage.
You had to be damn strong to resist such tension and the Auxerrois were stronger than the Stéphanois during a penalty shootout which saw Léon magnificently repel the attempt of the unfortunate Boudebouz, who had been the first to soar.
On the Burgundian side, despite a deafening din before each attempt, no one failed on the little white dot.
The Furlan players even transformed all their tries with a disconcerting relaxation, like Captain Touré who scored the fifth shot on goal.
A shot on goal for the victory which literally ignited the powder, the police using tear gas to disperse the green supporters who had invaded the lawn.
😱 Surreal scene after #ASSEAJA!
👉 Just after the goal of the climb for AJ Auxerre, "supporters" burst onto the field and threw firecrackers and smoke... pic.twitter.com/YFsf2wqfWG
— beIN SPORTS (@beinsports_FR) May 29, 2022
In the stands, the rest of the Saint-Etienne public was completely devastated.
He had already fallen silent a few seconds after Sakhi opened the scoring with a header, receiving a very good cross from Autret (51st).
A goal which then came to reward the rise of the third in Ligue 2.
AJA had notably been able to resist the cannon start of the Stéphanois thanks to its decisive entry goalkeeper against Bouanga (2nd).
The Guyanese would do it again several times, especially against Bouanga (87th) and Nordin (105th and 120th).
Only powerless against the equalizing head of Crivelli (76th), it was written that he was the hero of the meeting, like a royal Thibaut Courtois the day before in the Champions League final with Real Madrid against Liverpool (1-0).
In the end, it was the 1,154 Burgundian fans present at Geoffroy-Guichard who could exult: champion of France in 1996, the Burgundian club found an elite left ten years ago.
Jean-Marc Furlan, the Auxerrois coach, won his fifth promotion to the top flight with a third different club.
AS Saint-Étienne, the first Ligue 1 team beaten in the play-offs since Lorient in 2017, finds another sleeping giant, the Girondins de Bordeaux, in Ligue 2. A sad but undoubtedly logical conclusion for a team that does not have won none of their last eight games in all competitions.