At the final whistle, several Racingmen players fell to the ground near the central circle, tired by an intense burst of energy for 90 minutes, but also frustrated at having come so close to an exploit this Sunday during the round of 16 of the French Cup.
Despite the three divisions difference and a relocation to the Walter-Luzi stadium in Chambly, in Oise, the resident of N2 at certain times disrupted Lille, 5th in L1 and qualified for the round of 16 of the Europa Conference League at next spring.
But he conceded only once on a free kick from 18m by Hakon Haraldsson.
“I'm disgusted with the result but I'm happy to have stood up to an L1 leader even if we could have done something great,” breathes Marvin Emmanuel.
We lacked realism.
» The Racingman striker remembers his two chances which could have changed the course of the match.
“If I put one of the two at the bottom it’s not the same match, that’s for sure,” he insists.
On the first, Umtiti pushes me in the back and on the second, I am all alone in the area but Umtiti quickly arrives at the duel.
This is the high level!
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At his side, captain Ababacar Paye, author of an excellent performance in the Ile-de-France defense, regretted the end of the Coupe de France epic that began last October during the 4th round.
“It’s a disappointment because it comes down to one detail, this free kick that we can avoid.
However, there was room this evening to qualify, we only missed the last gesture, insists the central defender.
It's hard because the Cup stops.
There was such media enthusiasm, great matches to be played... that doesn't happen often in life.
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At a press conference, the Racingman coach used the word pride several times in his analysis.
“We didn't hide while trying to press high.
The Lille people played for time in the last minutes, it proves that we put them in difficulty, supports Guillaume Norbert who thanked FC Chambly for its hospitality.
We showed solidarity and talent.
He missed the precision on the last gesture and certain refereeing decisions.
It is a source of pride for us to bear the name of Racing, a historic club, and to have been able to bring it back to the forefront for a cup.
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In the Lille ranks, we felt happy to have been able to escape unscathed from this tricky encounter in the Oise.
“I was not surprised, Racing is a good team, very physical, very aggressive and which has good players,” declared Lille coach Paulo Fonseca.
If it was difficult for us, all the credit goes to Racing.
» When leaving the stadium, the Ile-de-France residents promised to quickly remobilize in their N2 championship (7th with one game in hand).
“I hope we can go up and experience other matches with a lot of supporters and a big atmosphere,” thinks Marvin Emmanuel.
There is a special atmosphere in the Coupe de France.
We hope to experience that again next year.
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