Before a paltry crowd of 1,423, Jeremiah White and FC Gueugnon went out of the Coupe de la Ligue after the small town side wasted a late one-goal lead against FC Istres at the Complex Sportif Parsemain.
Gueugnon gave up a second half goal to Johan Cavalli following a controversial penalty call, had a man sent off on either side of the conversion while allowing Istres to add the winning goal in the opening minutes of extra time to squander the lead they had taken in the middle of the first half.
The visitors were effectively taken out of the match by the referees as head man Cédric Cotrel awarded a penalty to the home side when linesman Jean-Paul Harribey signaled that defensive midfielder Jérémy Acedo had committed a hand ball infraction.
Cotrel had not pointed to the fateful spot until the signal from the line judge and the ensuing red card to Acedo was given despite the vociferous protests of Gueugnon captain Laurent Morestin and the clearly unintentional nature of the handball.
After the right footed Cavalli stepped up and converted to his left, Morestin immediately ran up to Cotrel, maybe to explain that only a deliberate handball goes contrary to the Laws of the Game and followed him all the way out to the center circle. Cotrel finally had heard enough and showed the Gueugnon captain his walking papers.
In less than a minute, Gueugnon had been reduced to nine men and despite mostly outplaying their hosts, had seen their chances of coming away with a win drastically reduced.
"He said he never touched it," Gueugnon head coach told YA afterwards speaking of Acedo's called handball. "[But] I'm more disappointed in our captain. He's got to understand that once he's been sanctioned he needs to back off, even if he is the captain."
Having lost two players, the Gueugnonais never really threatened again despite having taken control of the game - as well as the lead - two thirds of the way through the first half.
White started for Gueugnon on the right flank and caused problems on the left side of the home side's defense, and for the first fifteen minutes of the game was his side's only real threat.
The one-time League 1 competitors had clearly planned to put their guests under pressure from the start while Gueugnon seemed out of sorts, letting forwards Julien Viale and Christophe Aubanel consistently roam free to create dangerous opportunities.
The second minute saw Viale slip in behind the Gueugnon defense to easily win a corner, but that was also just as easily cleared by defender Mamady Kaba. The Guinea native's clearance was flicked back on for Viale again who was questionably called offside.
Two minutes later, midfielder Zakaria Aboub sprung Viale again behind the defense, and the former Lyon man was once again called offside.
In the fifth, White used his much talked about speed to put the home side under pressure down the right. His cross was intercepted, however, and led to another even more dangerous chance for Istres.
On the ensuing counter, Viale found his way down the left and let loose a rocket that only a great reaction from Romuald Peiser kept from finding net. Viale recovered his own rebound and laid it off for Aubanel and turned for goal.
To the chagrin of the home side faithful, however, Viale barely missed the return pass which Peiser was able to scoop up leaving the rest of his side to breathe a collective sigh.
White was at it again in the seventh, taking off down the left, where, eventually with no space remaining, won a corner that Gueugnon were unable to take advantage of.
A minute later, White ran onto a long ball from right back Jérémie Rodriguez across the field where the American had temporarily taken up position. Perhaps taking a second too long, White's shot was deflected yet passed surprisingly close to the left upright.
Istres continued to get behind the visitors defense with long balls to their two forwards with Viale once again getting off a chance in the ninth from inside the area, only to fire wide right.
The tenth minute saw Peiser once again forced into laying out for the save when Rodriguez gave the ball away just in front of the goal allowing Aubanel to get off a shot on goal.
Gueugnon, having settled in after an unorganized first 10 minutes began to control the midfield a bit more with White and fellow attacker Wilfried Niflore really putting pressure on the Istrien defense..
In the 14th White ran on to a ball from Acedo but took just a bit too much time and had a once open shot squandered.
A minute later, Gueugnon's lack of composure in the back seemed to have finally disappeared when Aubanel isolated Rodriguez down the right wing. Showing patience and nice positioning, the young defender allowed his defense to catch up to the play and Istres were left without ideas.
Back on the attack, in what would become a familiar refrain throughout the first half, White sped down the left side, working a nice give-and-go with Florent Marty but couldn't get around Istres defender Christophe Dumolin and was muscled to the sideline and off the ball.
Over the next ten minutes, Gueugnon dominated play save for a dangerous corner opportunity for the hosts that Kaba eventually snuffed out, playing the ball around with confidence and guile.
In the 27th White stole at midfield, eluded two tackles and raced up the right before lifting cross just too high for Niflore and just beyond the outstretched legs of Acedo.
A minute later, a switching of fields from Morestin to White saw the American come right close to opening the scoring when his quick one-two with Niflore almost reaped rewards. Receiving the ball almost as fast as he had given up, White hesitated just long enough for right back Richard Suriano to get a leg on the shot.
In the 30th minute Mohamed Louhkiar found a leather gift at his feet courtesy of a shanked header from Bilica in attempting to clear.
Three minutes later, Louhkiar and Niflore were two on three versus Istres, but the latter tried doing too much and instead of working with his teammate, cut across the field to fire straight to Rudy Riou's arms.
Just before the half, with a shot that he is surely regretting now, Niflore blew a chance to double the score when White set him up perfectly with a lob over the defense leaving the attacker with time and space. He easily chipped the onrushing keeper but a little too much sent it onto the wrong side of the netting over the crossbar and left the pair clearly frustrated.
FC Gueugnon took a one-zero lead into the half, surely knowing that their lead could have possibly been two or three.
Gueugnon gave up a bit of field to begin the second half, but just missed for a third time just three minutes in.
Louhkiar played a short corner to Rodriguez who crossed in for the 6'2" attacker. Rising higher than his mark, Niflore managed to direct his past Riou, only to see it come off the right upright.
A bizarre play in the 49th saw White receive a yellow card after taking a ball to the face off of a Cavalli restart.
Seeing that White was taking his time moving off, the Istres midfielder took aim and drilled White from behind; the midfielder immediately tumbling to the ground. Despite the clear intentions of Cavalli, the referee showed White the plastic for playing too close to the free kick.
While head coach Victor Zvunka would later explain his eventual substitution of the American because he had 'come out flat in the second half', the speedy midfielder's play seemed to downshift following Cavalli's unsportsmanlike behavior.
"It was because I took that ball to the side of the head," expressing his incredulity with also having received a caution. "I threw up after I was subbed."
"I don't know what to say. I was walking away, and the next thing I know I was on the ground."
Gueugnon brought on defensive midfielder Abdichi Moke Diarra for the more offensive minded David LeFrapper and the game slowed to a battle of midfields and not many more chances for either side.
White did start another breakaway in the 59th and Rodriguez to a wide open space on the right and into the box. His return pass was just beyond White's reach however and Istres escaped unscathed.
While Zvunka had chosen to protect his one goal lead, Istres brought on two forwards and starting pressing the issue.
The controversial penalty call came as the result of a mad scramble that saw half of the Istres side have a chance on goal, while Gueugnon's defense committed a comedy of errors in trying to clear.
Following Cavalli's converted penalty and Gueugnon's reduction to nine men, it seemed just a matter of time before the visitor's would cave.
White was substituted off in the 84th, and his departure along with their captain and best midfielder left Gueugnon out of answers.
The home side slammed the door shut just three minutes into the first extra time when second half substitute Hassan Souari fired home Cavalli's deflected shot from just outside the penalty area, giving Istres their first lead of the night and the eventual winner.
White and FC Istres return to league play with a game at Guingamp this weekend. |
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