An encouraging performance! [1-1]

For their third outing of the new season, the Girondins welcomed Angers SCO. Bordeaux battled hard throughout, and ended up with a well-deserved point for their efforts. Sékou Mara (10’) scored early for the Girondins, and Romain Thomas equalised later in the first half. Enock Kwateng and Ricardo Mangas both picked up yellow cards. Bordeaux certainly made the brighter start, spurred on by the sound of the raucous home support. They soon translated that early dominance into a wonderful chance on goal: after a swift one-two with Gideon Mensah, Ricardo Mangas played a crisp through ball for Sékou Mara. Mara smashed his shot just inside the front post to fire Bordeaux into the lead in the 10th minute (1-0).

Bordeaux continued to dominate for much of the first half, leaving little room for Angers to find their stride. And yet, a corner hastily cleared by the Bordeaux defence allowed the visitors to fire the ball back into the box. Romain Thomas rose above the rest to equalise with a bullet of a header that left Benoît Costil stranded (40’). Bordeaux 1-1 Angers, with half time fast approaching.

After this sudden change of fortunes, it was Angers' turn to take control of the game. A stinging counter-attack saw Mohamed-Ali Cho shrug off several defenders before finally being stopped by Costil. Angers actually had the better of the possession in the first period (43%-57%), but Bordeaux were ahead in terms of chances on goal and all-round threat. Neither side made any changes at half time, but Otavio looked fresh and re-energised as he teed up Issouf Sissosko for an early shot (47’). Otavio was soon at it again, picking up the ball in midfield and attempting to lob Paul Bernardoni. The ex-Bordeaux man got his hands to it, narrowly averting what would surely have been goal of the year (54’) !

Angers had their chances too, with Angelo Fulgini charging into the box, dribbling past Gideon Mensah and laying off for Sofiane Boufal who put the ball into the side netting (58’). Cheered on by the home crowd, the Girondins gave their all in the final half hour. There were plenty of chances, with Sékou Mara and Rémi Oudin particularly industrious. Unfortunately Vladimir Petkovic's men were up against a solid and well-drilled defence, and had to content themselves with a hard-earned point (1-1).