Bordeaux draw with Montpellier [2-2]

Jérôme Dauba's side started strongly, playing with the discipline and structure required to get anything past the third-placed side in the league. Their efforts paid off in the 11th minute when Viviane Asseyi put the Girondines ahead, connecting with a superb cross from Ghoutia Karchouni. The Girondines almost had a second from a scramble inside the box, but the ball scraped just wide (27’). Two minutes later Vivianne Asseyi struck again, firing in an irresistible shot from inside the box to double the lead ! (29’, 2-0 Bordeaux). Montpellier then reduced the gap with their first shot on target of the game, with Cayman lobbing Romane Bruneau from a tight angle (39’, 2-1 Bordeaux). The physical intensity of this game continued unabated in the second half, with Montpellier more enterprising and Bordeaux beginning to focus on containment and counter-attacking. In the end the pressure was too much to take, and Le Bihan's header from Puntigam's free kick pulled the visitors level (65’, 2-2). The Girondines almost snatched the lead again in the 74th minute, when a rapid counter-attack led by Maëlle Garbino found Claire Lavogez in a good position inside the box... only for the goalkeeper to intervene. Viviane Asseyi was still pushing hard for her hat-trick, launching a dramatic 40-metre sprint capped off with a shot which the keeper just about managed to box away (80’). MHSC keeper Murphy was the stand-out performer of this second half, again denying Viviane Asseyi a third goal when she stopped her goal-bound header (84’). Bordeaux will be ruing some of those missed opportunities, having let a 2-0 lead slip from their grasp against a typically solid Montpellier side.