Recap: Auxerre shock Brest with dominant win (3-0)
Match Reports
Auxerre finally ended a horrendous run of form in Ligue 1 with a surprise 3-0 win over Stade Brestois at the Stade Abbé-Deschamps on Friday evening, thanks to goals from Owusu, Rocha Mendes Junior, and Hamed Traoré.
The first half saw AJA hold onto the ball well, Pélissier's men were buoyed by a positive performance against Montpellier in the last round despite a narrow loss (3-2). After several forays forward in the first period, it would be Elisha Owusu who opened the scoring with Auxerre's first chance in the game, the midfielder was played in on the edge of the area and fired past Marco Bizot in the centre of the goal (26').
With a palpable sense of relief dawning on the home side, AJA tried to put the pressure on to try and double the lead, yet Éric Roy's side had a response of their own when Kenny Lala's free-kick was met by Coulibaly, and his header skimmed the post in Brest's first chance of the game.
Yet the home side would have luck on their side, as Sinayoko provoked a handball from midfielder Edmilson Fernandes, and the referee evidently pointed to the penalty spot. It would be Brazilian defender Jubal that stepped up to take the spot kick, sending Bizot to the left and calmly dispatching to the right. (35').
Les Diplomates wouldn't stop there, as Sinayoko almost fooled Bizot with a header only minutes later, but it was held well by the Dutchman. Abdallah Sima would get another chance for Brest before the half-time whistle, forcing Donovan Léon to parry away.
Brest slightly dominated possession by half-time, but Auxerre would be clearly dominating the chances with nine shots at goal compared to Brest's measly two. The second half would see much of the same action, as Auxerre aimed to defend their lead. The fervent home support would have more joy on their way, as Hamad Junior Traoré grabbed a third goal for l'AJA. The attacker controlled the ball wonderfully in the box and fired past Bizot for a third and surely grab Auxerre's second win of the season.
THE STAT - Three is the (not so) magic number
Brest have lost each of their last three away games in Ligue 1 (0-2 at Lens, 1-3 at Paris SG and 0-3 tonight), their longest drought in the top-flight since February-April 2021 (3).
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