Recap: Ludovic Ajorque Helps Brest Edge Le Havre

In the first half, Le Havre faced 10 total shots from the visitors while the home side only recorded two. Brest's onslaught of shots led to them breaking the scoreless deadlock midway through the first 45 minutes of action.

Le Club Doyen's defense could not clear the ball once the cross came into the box on a corner kick set piece. After the ball bounced around in the box, Ludovic Ajorque managed to poke it into the net, giving Brest a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute.

Ajorque is beginning to hit his stride for Brest as the veteran goal-scorer has scored four goals in his last five Ligue 1 McDonald's matches. The 30-year-old's close-range left-footed shot into the bottom left corner allowed Brest to take a one-goal lead into halftime.

In the final 45 minutes of action, Le Havre showed life as they recorded nine total shots while Éric Roy and his team countered with seven. Despite an increase in shots, Didier Digard and his team couldn't manage to find the net and equalize.

Brest, meanwhile, had opportunities to score multiple goals against Le Havre, but Mathieu Gorgelin's six saves kept his team in the game.

Even with Gorgelin's solid performance, the home side couldn't find the breakthrough goal, and Brest left northern France with a 1-0 victory. The result also puts Les Pirates (eighth place, 28 points) within striking distance of a European competition spot for next season.

After the match, Roy spoke to DAZN and noted that while he's happy with the result, his squad could've secured a more comfortable victory had they put away their scoring chances.

"I'm very happy with our first half. Honestly, we could have gone into halftime with a 2-0 or even 3-0 lead. We created several chances and controlled the game. After that, we knew there would likely be a reaction in the second half."

"When you have nothing to lose, you throw everything at it. It’s true that Le Havre was brave and put us under pressure a bit. They hit the post, but overall, if we had lost this match, or at least drawn, I think we’d have been disappointed."

The Stat: Brest Can Balance Two Competitions

Brest have won six of their seven Ligue 1 McDonald's matches this season following UEFA Champions League games, with just one loss. The only loss came in November, after Les Pirates beat AC Sparta Praha 2-1, but then lost 3-1 to Montpellier in their next league match.

Even with Champions League matches alongside their Ligue 1 McDonald's and Coupe de France commitments, Brest have shown they can balance Europe's top club competition while staying competitive domestically.

READ MORE:

>>Recap: PSG and Reims Draw in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia Debut
>>Recap: Maghnes Akliouche Stars in Monaco's Win Over Rennes