Back on the matches of the weekend with a postponed meeting, between Rouen and Arras, following the death of the parents of Loreen Herbet, player of the club nordiste, in dramatic circumstances. An 18th day marked by the good operations of Montauban and Issy in the race maintenance, while FC Metz is not very far from the D1.


Group A - Arras did not have the football head


The club north, bereaved, did not play this weekend its scheduled match in Rouen, the meeting being postponed until next Sunday. A decision, validated by the FFF and taken following the death of the parents of Loreen Herbet, player of the club arrageois. The previous weekend, they were found shot dead at home while Loreen and the northern team were traveling to Le Mans.

A drama that obviously puts football in brackets and has sparked a wave of solidarity that has already resulted in the setting up of a prize pool in support of Loreen Herbet. Similarly, some of the revenue of the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France, April 15, between Arras and Olympique Lyonnais will be donated in favor of the northern player.


FC Metz on the rise


On the various courses, the other residents of group A played this weekend, with notably FC Metz who pursues his rider alone and gets closer to the D1. Especially since in his back, the Stade de Reims lost on the Brest lawn (2-0). A setback that ends a series of 11 games without defeat for the players of Amandine Miquel, but which comes as Reims had shared the points in the last two days.

For this third consecutive trip, Reims failed to take a point, facing a Brest team that scored one goal per period, by Anaïs Ribeyra and Eva Sumo. This victory allows Stade Brestois to remain comfortably in the middle of the table in sixth place while Reims falls one rank and could even fall from the podium in favor of Arras.

From now on, it is La Roche-sur-Yon who is the first pursuer of FC Metz, nine points of the leaders, after his victory (0-1) on the lawn of Saint-Malo thanks to a goal of Pauline Dhaeyer. A comfortable lead for leaders Lorraine especially as they count a game late against FF Issy. FC Metz have also won this weekend against Le Mans, the current red lantern of Group A.

A big success on the score of 5-1 with five different goalscorers messin side to start with Maureen Bigot who opened the score in the 33rd minute. The other four Lorraine goals were scored in the second act as well as the goal manceau signed Oumou Fofana in the 84th minute. A victory that brings Metz closer to the D1 with a rise that could be formalized before the end of April.


The good operation of Issy

For Le Mans, the maintenance will be played in the coming weeks with a gap that widened with FF Issy, tenth and in position of barrage. The players Ile de France have signed a major victory against Angers (3-0). Butker in the last two Issy outings, Batcheba Louis has found the way to the net penalty (56th).

A goal scored in the second half, after opening the scoring early in the game Nacera Bouchenter (4th). Issy will get two more penalties in this match, the first missed by Ella Kaabachi in the first half (23rd) but who will finally score the third goal late in the game.

This victory allows Issy to take three steps ahead of Lorient, eleventh and relegation first. The Breton players lost (3-0) on the turf of another Ile-de-France club, the VGA Saint-Maur who returned to winning after two heavy defeats against Angers and La Roche-sur-Yon. The players of Val-de-Marne opened the score by Karen Montgénie in the first half (26th) before consolidating their advantage on the hour by Alexia Nowak (59) and Chloé Pierel (62).


Group B - Montauban's breakaway


The end of the season promises to be breathtaking for the teams involved in the maintenance race. And in this bottom of the table, a team managed to take the lead at the end of the weekend. It is Montauban who won (0-3) on the turf of Aurillac-Arpajon, direct opponent for maintenance.

A success that allows the Montalbanaises to take four points ahead of the red zone and his opponent of the day, in position of barragiste in tenth place. It was Fiona Grégoire Cufi who launched the players of Tarn-et-Garonne with a shot unchecked from the midfield (35th).

Then we have to wait until the end of the match to see Montauban come off permanently. Marion Braunwart scored the break in the 84th minute, after missing a penalty on the hour and a few minutes after the expulsion of an FC2A player (80th). Audrey Papaya further accentuates the lead Montauban a few minutes later (87th) and ensures the victory for his team. The ESAP Metz also takes a pointA victory that confirms the good momentum of the Southwest players after two draws against Toulouse and Saint-Etienne. This is also the good operation of the week for the maintenance while the ESAP Metz is the other team to have taken a point among the five teams at the bottom of table. A draw obtained on the lawn of Yzeure ( 1-1), in a game where the Messines opened the scoring in the first half by Binta Diakhité. Like Montauban, Metz has taken five points in its last three outings, allowing the Lorraine players to count two points ahead of the three teams temporarily affected by the descent. Three teams that lost this weekend, the FC2A but also Ambilly and Nîmes.Deux heavy defeats for the last two teams in the ranking each time on the score of 5-0 respectively against Saint-Etienne and Nancy. For Nîmes, the difference was made before the break with four Nancy goals scored before the break, and a hat-trick for the whole match for Marlyse Ngo Ndoumbouk. Saint-Étienne finds its minds On their side, the Haut-Savoyardes suffered the awakening of the Vertes, groggy after their defeat at Dijon. Stated in the standings, ASSE now has less chances to reach D1 for next season. But against Ambilly, the Stéphanoises have regained their spirits, including a hat-trick of Candice Gherbi, who opened the scoring in the quarter of an hour.Five points, a gap also maintained between ASSE and Dijon which was also imposed against Vendenheim (4-0). Dijon kept up the pace in a match where Elodie Nakkach opened the scoring with a free kick from Tatiana Solanet (23rd), also a scorer in the second half (80th). Four days from the end, Dijon keeps his destiny in hand before a difficult end of the season with including three duels against teams in the struggle for maintenance.The other opponent who waits for Dijon on this end of the season, it's is Grenoble who came out of his bad luck with a success on the field of Toulouse (0-1) after five games without a win. The Grenoble goal was scored early in the second period by Océane Grange free-kick, while the players of the TFC had just been reduced to ten following the expulsion of their guard, Charlotte Verdier.