A close-fought draw with Saint-Etienne [1-1]

The Girondins rounded off their pre-season training camp with a friendly against AS Saint-Etienne. The turn-out was strong at Stade Darragon, and Les Verts were the first side to take the initiative. Within the first minute, ex-Girondin Sergi Palencia rose above the defence and placed his header onto Gaëtan Poussin's left post (1’). The Girondins were under severe pressure for the first ten minutes, but the game settled down eventually. After a first attempt from Dilane Bakwa (10’), Logan Delaurier-Chaubet produced an absolutely stunning shot from the edge of the box. ASSE keeper Green was stranded, Bordeaux were 1-0 up (15’).

Dilane Bakwa very nearly made it two straight from the restart, but this time the keeper had it covered (19’). Both sides were keen to get stuck in to this game, and Gaëtan Poussin did well to win a one-on-one and keep the Girondins in the lead (35’). Things got a little heated after a clash between Silva and Danylo Ignatenko, with both players shown a yellow card (37’).

After the break David Guion fielded a largely unchanged side, save for the arrival of Josh Maja in place of Sékou Mara. The intensity showed no signs of dropping, and both Malcom Bokélé and Yoann Barbet endured some heavy challenges. The tackle on Barbet earned Rivera a yellow card (54’). The Girondins were under severe pressure by now, with Gaëtan Poussin pulling off an exceptional save from close-range (69’) as well as demonstrating his ability in the air (71’). Saint Etienne threw everything they had at the game but just couldn't seem to create chances on goal… until they won a penalty in the 91st minute. Denis Bouanga did the honours and sealed a late equaliser for Les Verts: 1-1 was the final score.

The club would like to thank the town of Vichy and local club RC Vichy for their warm welcome. The Girondins will play their final pre-season friendly this Saturday at the Matmut ATLANTIQUE, against Real Union Club.     Photo credits: LogPhotos 📸