Another vital victory!

Bordeaux started off on the front foot at the Stade du Hainaut, with Josh Maja twice coming close to scoring in the opening minutes (4’ and 16’). After a frantic fifteen minutes the pace gradually began to slow, but that did not stop Yoann Barbet from testing the hosts on two occasions, first with a powerful drive which was blocked by a defender (24’) and then from a well-placed free kick (40’). The Girondins' back four were vigilant when they needed to be, seeing off Valenciennes' rare incursions into the final third (2’, 11’ and 41’).

Early in the second period, Stian Gregersen brought his speed and physical power to bear when he cut short a Valenciennes attack (49’). Bordeaux had plenty of chances but no goals to show for them, in spite of the best efforts of Josh Maja (51’), Yoann Barbet and Alexi Pitu (53’). So far Valenciennes had withstood everything the Girondins had thrown at them... but they hadn't counted on Dilane Bakwa. Sent on to replace Alexi Pitu (60'), Dilane provided the spark that finally ignited the Girondins' explosive attack. In fact, Bakwa was involved in both goals! When his mazy run was cut short by a defender, the resulting free kick gave Yoann Barbet a perfect opportunity to open the scoring (0-1, 69’). A few minutes later, he teed up Josh Maja with a peach of a pass which the Nigerian international duly slotted past Madjer and into the net! (0-2, 82’)

Bordeaux racked up another vital win and a clean sheet to boot, with Cuffaut's crossbar rebound in injury time proving to be the closest the hosts came to goal all night (90+3’). After back-to-back wins, the Girondins tightened their grip on second place in the all-important race for promotion. The boys will be back in action against Caen next Saturday 6 May at the Matmut ATLANTIQUE, kick-off 3pm. Come on down to cheer on the mighty Girondins !