First victory and first home goal [1-0]

The weather wasn’t exactly pleasant this Saturday afternoon, but that didn’t stop Bordeaux from picking up three crucial points. In spite of the challenging condition of the pitch, the ladies put in a superb team performance to overcome Guingamp. And all despite a thoroughly inauspicious start, with Inès Jaurena suffering a nasty blow to the head which required her to leave the field. Ella Palis took her place.

Bordeaux dominated the first half in every area of the pitch, creating some promising opportunities. In the 24th minute, Khadija Shaw picked up the ball and went charging down the left. She hooked it back to Ouleymata Sarr, whose cross found Maëlle Garbino in the middle. Garbino’s shot narrowly missed the mark and ended up in the side netting. Five minutes later Shaw was back on the attack, cutting through the Guingamp defence. She cut inside the box and flicked a cross into the middle, but the ball slid across the goalmouth with no takers. Things calmed down a little as half-time approached, but another unfortunate incident saw Ouleymata Sarr pick up an injury just before the break.

Julie Dufour thus made her debut in the Bordeaux front line, and was a constant menace to the visitors’ defence from the get-go. With an hour on the clock, Ella Palis cut through the lines and picked out Julie Dufour on the right flank. Dufour immediately charged at the Guingamp defence, and as they back-tracked she fired off a sublime lob which looped over the keeper and into the back of the net. First game and first goal for Julie! Nevertheless, Pedro Martinez Losa’s side were forced to dig deep in the final minutes. Guingamp pushed hard for an equaliser, but Bordeaux stayed strong in spite of the fatigue and cramp. This was another solid team performance, enlivened by some moment of pure skill. A first victory on home turf, and three valuable points for the Girondines. Bravo les filles !