In a game dominated mostly by their opponents, Stade Rennais grabbed a late win as the Breton side travelled to Ligue 1 new comers SM Caen. Ola Toivonen was the sole goal scorer in a game that Cae played mostly with ten men.
Rennes started the match, keeping most of the possession in the early stages of the match- Mexer and Armand getting their fair share of the ball, playing at centre half.
The first chance of the game fell to a man who was once adored (and still is) by the Rennes faithful, Julien Feret as his shot from just outside the box fell just shy of his ex-team mate, Benoit Costil's goal.
This chance gave Caen much confidence in the early stages of the match. Their fans were in full voice and each beat of the drum beat from the singing section were pushing the men from Normandy forward. Caen found themselves with another great opportunity to go in front, but the meeting header from the first of many corners they would have, went just over the crossbar.
Rennes goalkeeper, Costil was put to work a lot in the first fifteen minutes of the game. The acrobatic Frenchman was put under pressure when an inviting cross was played in his vicinity- Costil sprung from his goal line to parry the ball away from the oncoming striker.
The first booking of the match came when Rennes begun to grow into the game- Paul Georges Ntep, the ever tricky winger forced a foul from Caen's Kante, and was booked for the foul. The costless kick was twenty yards from goal and in a great scoring position, Ntep would be the one responsible to take it but the idea to pass to his team mate on the side of the box was intercepted by the defending wall.
Rennes continued to push forward to try and open the scoring, this was overshadowed however, as new signing Fallou Diagne could have made his debut when centre half, Sylvain Armand experienced a dead leg and received medical treatment. Caen were down to ten men Kante was sent off for his tackle from behind on Cheikh M'bengue, and was deemed a red card offence by the referee.
Rennes took advantage of the extra man immidiately when a long ball was played through to Doucoure, who headed the ball down to Toivonen, but the Swedish international couldn't convert as his volley went over the bar from just inside the box. A similar chance opened up for Caen as a header from a long ball was headed down, but the striker couldn't guide it like Toivonen had done previously.
The second half was more 50-50 in the beginning as Costil was tested with another teasing cross which he couldn't meet with properly and Rennes gained more possession, but couldn't find the final ball to fathom a chance. Costil was once again forced to prove his worth as a goalkeeper, as a costless kick from shooting distance had the Rennes number one at full stretch as he miraculously held the ball.
Caen came into the game as the second half went on, the men in blue and red had a fantastic opportunity to go in front, ending in Costil saving a shot with his knees, diverting Lenny Nangis' shot for a corner. Another corner meant another cross for Costil to flap at, which he did- he was having a lot of bother with crosses. The second ball fell to Da Silva, forcing Costil to make another important save, as he tipped the ball over the bar.
A wonderful ball from M'bengue found substitute Pedro Henrique but the angle from goal meant that the finish hit the side netting. The next passages in play were more corners for Caen, one of which was from a threatening costless kick close to the box- none of the corners giving Rennes too much bother. What was bothering Rennes though, were the lack of scoring opportunities- Abdoulaye Doucoure tried to form his own with a decent run into the box, but was easily dealt with by the Caen defence.
This frustration began to show as Ntep attempted the impossible, trying to score from an awkward angle from the byline close to the Caen goal, irritating fans and players alike. The frustration grew further when a penalty call for a reckless challenge on winger, Pedro Henrique was turned away by the referee.
A sigh of relief came late on, in the eighty-eighth minute when Hosiner was fouled during a series of play which resulted in the ball finding the net, the referee deemed the foul on Hosiner and the resulting penalty to be the correct call. Ola Toivonen was to be the penalty taker for the Red and Blacks, and calmly placed the penalty to the left of the goalkeeper and sending him the wrong way in the process. This was the last important action in the game and the large travelling support from Brittany will head home happy that they managed to gain all three points from a tough game.