FC Nantes took a major stride towards Ligue 1 survival on Saturday night in the Principality of Monaco by scoring early and then surviving a wild finish to defeat AS Monaco FC by 2-1.
Mamadou Bagayoko's goal in the fifth minute set Les Canaris on their way. When Aurélien Capoue struck two minutes before half-time the Nantes lead seemed comfortable at 2-0 as the teams left the field for the break. Nantes was still getting the better of play through the early stages of the second half when Bagayoko was fouled. The Nantes attacker reacted angrily and in his demonstration may have bumped the referee. His lack of control earned him a red card game disqualification. Nantes played on with 10 against Monaco's 11.
Monaco exploited the man advantage and got a goal in the 86th minute. As Nantes struggled furiously to hold on Monaco continued to push forward. Just before the clock reached the 90 minute mark Nantes defender Rémi Maréval went down in a collision with a Monaco forward. Maréval had already been dinged in a first half collision and this new injury left him unable to continue. Nantes had already made their three allotted substitutions which meant that they had to play on with now only 9 against 11. Four minutes of stoppage time were added but somehow Nantes survived to a 2-1 final.
Last Saturday FC Nantes was dismissed from this year's Coupe de France when Caen defeated Les Canaris at Nantes by penalty kicks after extra time. Caen scored first but Nantes equalized and the match was 1-1 after regulation. Caen scored in the first 15 minute extra period and seemed safely through but Nantes scored in the second period to equalize again. The game ended at 2-2 and had to be resolved by penalty kicks. Caen prevailed by not missing any of their allotted five kicks while Nantes had one go over the bar.
In Columbus, Ohio, today, in women's college hockey, Minnesota 12, Ohio State 1. Eight different players scored goals for Minnesota including four who scored two apiece. Thirteen players had points including nine with multiple points. Somewhat surprisingly, Minnesota's senior player of the year candidate and last weekend's 8 point getter was held off today's score sheet.
I am sure we will all be fishing soon. Except perhaps for the person who in this photo is wearing fuchsia. Her facial expression does not indicate that this experience has induced a life long love of angling, she doesn't look like a fishing enthusiast to me.
