Rennes great, Julien Feret was given a final goodbye today despite his team losing by two goals to one at home to Sochaux.
Sochaux- who started off as third bottom had to win today to have any chance of avoiding the relegation play-off position. Sochaux showed their must win approach from the off as they attacked to the right side of the Rennes defence. Behind the goals Sochaux were attacking were message banners from disgruntled Rennes supporters due to the recent cup final defeat by EA Guingamp the week before.
The game settled as the game found its rhythm with both teams having little in the way of clear cut chances- the closest being a tricky ball into the box that centre-back Hountondji had to deal with swiftly.
Rennes had a great opportunity to take the lead as Swedish international, Ola Toivonen hit a shot from just outside of the box which the goalkeeper, Pele seen go over the bar. Rennes winger Kamil Grosicki had a call for a handball as his cross into the box struck the arm of the defender but it was deemed to be in a natural position by the referee.
Rennes allowed Sochaux to have more of the ball as the half went on including a succession of corners- Kante coming close with a header over the bar. Roy Contout had his spectacular overhead kick goal ruled out by the linesman as the cross that made the opportunity had been deemed out of play.
The fans behind the goal, Roazhon Celtic Kop had staged a strike and walked out of the stadium in protest of the team's poor result. The fans who remained in the stadium were also showing their frustration with the team, jeering every bad piece of play by their team.
Rennes midfilder, Abdoulaye Doucoure took up the slack of an attack and ran at his opponents but the finish beit a cross or a shot from distance whizzed by the goals. This was then replicated by team mate, Alessandrini who got his attempt on target. Ola Toivonen was also restricted to another strike from distance, which like the last was off target.The game had started to get less exciting from both sides with nothing happening of note for at least ten minutes.
Doucoure went on another run, this time with a better attempt at goal but he didn't manage to break the deadlock. Rennes were happy to leave Sochaux with the ball once more but this time they were punished as one of the attempts managed to find the net. Striker, Jordan Ayew found the ball from a chipped ball over the defenders and placed the ball to the side of Benoit Costil.
Rennes tried to get themselves back into the game as quick as possible and won a freekick half-way into their opponents half. Romain Alessandrini was the person to hit the ball but it seemed that he went to goal from distance-bizzarely. The attempt was unsuprisingly weak and was cleared by the Sochaux defence. Rennes looked like they had ran out of ideas- a problem with the game being 37 minutes old.
Before the game went into half time Sochaux had their own feeble attempt of a freekick collected by Costil. Romain Alessandrini tried to attack through the middle but a late lunge by Marange seen him pick up a yellow card. The referee blew for half-time and the fans reacted by lobbing a stack of boos towards the team which went round the stadium- they were not happy.
The second half started with the Sochaux goalkeeper, Pele under some pressure due to a header from a lob into the box from a freekick outside of the centre circle. Pele was forced to judge the bounce of the ball and palmed the ball away, before catching it to safety. Doucoure used his height and presence in the box with headering the ball, but the attempt was off target once more.
Toivonen was the maestro in the best chance of the game for Rennes; he was given time to dribble close to the box by the Sochaux defence and the ball was poked through the legs of the first challenging defender; the ball rolled to Grosicki who hit the ball towards the empty net, however the ball was cleared off the line.
Rennes' youngster, Bakayoko was down injured due to a reckless challenge to his face which caused a bit of friction between the players and the staff of the two teams who collided and had to be split up by the referee and forth official respectively. This resulted in bookings for Moreira for Rennes and Ayew for Sochaux.
Paul-Georges Ntep came on for Grosicki ten minutes into the second half- a familiar move by manager Montanier who hoped his super-sub would striker once more. Costil was almost put into action twice in quick succession. Firstly, he watched a side-footed attempt from outside of the box go past his left post and then sprung into action to save a volley from Coricha who was through on goal.
The highlight of the game came when the wait was finally over as Julien Feret came onto the field as a substitute for Bakayoko. The fans gave a great cheer for their long-time favourite. Each time he received the ball, the same loud cheer rang round the stadium for the veterain midfielder. With Feret's introduction Rennes pushed for a second goal and came close as Moreira's cross was a whisker away from connecting with Toivonen's head.
The score was levelled shortly after as Moreira whipped in an impressive cross to the back post, the goalkeeper committed and missed the point of collection which gave the opportunity for Ntep to rise above the defender and head the ball into the net. Ntep broke into a dance as the fans surrounding him broke into celebration with him.
Sochaux tried to regain the lead as Boukari's long range effort was saved by Costil. Sochaux switched to a more attacking mindset by taking off centre back, Kante and bringing on Mayuka. The substitute worked with immidiate effect as a short corner was then crossed in and Mayuka had an easy header to tap into the goal. Benoit Costil was frustrated at his defence as it remained static and was beaten on both posts.
Romain Alessandrini had the best chance to bring Rennes back level as his half volley was met with a superb save by the feet of Pele. Substitute, Oliveira had forced Pele into another phenominal reflex save with a shot from distance.
As the game drew closer to the end Rennes began to get more frustrated, Toivonen blocked off the goalkeeper which resulted in the striker receiving a yellow card. Moments later Toivonen done the exact same thing he was booked for and came close to being spoken to once more by the referee, risking a sending off.
Mr Rennes himself, Julien Feret showed the frustration of Rennes as he had a pot shot from distance go way off target with no hope of a goal whatsoever. Youngster, Ntep tried to build on his goal and seemed to be the only player making edgeways for Rennes however he was fighting a losing battle. The full time whislt blew as did the continuous boos from the fans. The players clapped their fans as they wouldn't play in the stadium until next season. Danze was clapped off as he said goodbye to his faithful fans.
Sochaux now need a win in the next match against Evian to avoid the bottom three and a relegation position; Rennes have nothing to play for as they travel to Stade Reims next week.