A goalless draw was to be the final result in which the away side, Stade Rennais could easily have taken three points had they been more clinical- a familiar comment this season for the Breton side.
An almost full house gathered at FC Metz's Stade Saint-Symphorien as they seen their side battle Stade Rennais all the way in a draw that would have had their heart's in a twist. Stade Rennais went into the international break coming off a comfortable 2-0 home win over RC Lens but were without injured Ola Toivonen, whilst Metz were defeated by Evian by three goals to nil in the away tie.
The opening minutes of the game were settled- an early challenge on Vincent Pajot and an easily dealt with cross from Pedro Henrique, the only incidents which skewed the calm beginning of the match. The home side pushed their opponents close had Maiga not been offside before receiving a close pass that put him through one-on-one with Rennes keeper, Benoit Costil.
A succession of costless kicks followed- a foul on Rennes hitman, Hosiner resulting in Metz centre back, Milan getting his name first into the referee's book. Metz used their costless kick more effectively than their opponents as it was met by a head the back post but there wasn't enough direction in attempt to put it by Costil. Feeling the heat of the chances that Metz had, Rennes began applying some pressure of their own. Grosicki cut inside from the left-wing and had his shot blocked whereas his team mate, Abdoulaye Doucoure linked well during his passages of play.
Mexer had the best chance to put his side in the lead when a corner won by Doucoure had Metz keeper, Mfa, stranded as he came out to collect but was unsuccessful- Mexer had a costless header which was notched just wide. The goalkeeper wasn't the only Metz player who was sloppy as his centre halves were just as bad, giving the ball away to the Rennes attackers who were unable to capitalize.
Metz were restricted to using costless kicks as their means of creating an opportunity for themselves. They came close when Milan hit a powerful effort from distance which Costil was unable to handle- he palmed over the bar. Rennes were penned back in their own half by the home side, but trying to counter-attack at each chance. Kamil Grosicki believed he was due a penalty when he was fouled inside the box, however the referee waved away the claim leaving the Polish international agitated.
The next stages remained quiet, like the opening minutes of the game. However, the lull in the game was immediately interrupted when Rennes most creative chance went a miss. Moreira whipped in a dangerous cross into the back post which was met by the run of Pedro Henrique, however his diving header was a whisker by the post. Metz also tried to create chances for themselves before the break, the most end-to-end the game had been the entire half.
The second half continued where the first half ended. Metz had a fantastic opportunity to break the deadlock. A ball played forward just seemed to fall at the feet of Florent Malouda, but Costil stood his ground and got himself in the way and the defence cleared.
Rennes first chance of a goal came from a Grosicki costless kick 20 yards in a left of centre shooting position. Grosicki opted to hit low and to the left of the goalkeeper. The keeper got down quick and held well without too much bother. The referee was under criticism of his positioning of walls at costless kicks as he misjudged, having players much further than they should have been from the ball.
Moreira pushed for a Rennes goal as he drove into the box from the side but his attempt was deflected off of the defender for a corner. The follow-up from the corner resulted in Pedro Henrique having an identical chance with the same result. Pedro Henrique smacked the post from an acute angle from outside the box, beating the goalkeeper all ends up. The follow up on the smack, landed to Doucoure but his shot from distance was way wide of the mark.
Hosiner created a half-chance for himself, holding off his defender outside the box but his attempt on the half volley was watched wide by the goalkeeper. Hosiner had a critical pass in a promising counter-attack intercepted, soon after. Another half-chance was formed with link up play between Pajot and Doucoure but the final shot went wide.
Metz were also restricted to little goal mouth action- Sarr had tame shot from distance held by Costil and Maiga tried his utmost best to create a chance but none of his team mates were switched on. Sarr was booked for simulation just outside the box. Pedro Henrique, who seemed to the only player in a Rennes jersey pushing for the all important winner ran inside the box on a dangerous rampage. As he made contact with the ball as he hit his eventual shot, the winger slipped, sending the ball nestling the side netting.
Metz tried to push for a late winner, whereas Rennes brought on Andre for Pedro Henrique to tighten up at the back. Another Rennes substitute, Habib Habibou was penalised for his acrobatics, as he attempted an overhead kick from a corner. This concluded the proceedings.
FC Metz travel to Saint Etienne in their next match, whilst Stade Rennais host Lille.