Amazing win over champions Lyon!

By: Nick | March 15th, 2009

Well, we finally did it: this is perhaps the biggest win for Auxerre in, well quite frankly considering the meager seasons of the past few years it’s HUGE. The final score of the match was 2-0 on a banging goal by Ireneusz Jelen from a few yards out after a clinical through ball by Thomas Kahlenberg in the 41st minute. Kahlenberg would then tack on extra goal in injury time to make it 2-0 after he picked up the ball just in Lyon’s own half and then proceeded to cooly lob Lyonnais goalkeeper Hugo Lloris from well beyond the box. The amazing thing is that this game could have ended 3-0, as Cedric Hengbart missed an easy oppurtunity with a terrible penalty kick in the 90th minute.

So, what have we seen from les Auxerrois in the past few weeks? A lot, actually. Although the team went unbeaten for well over a month and was riding a five-game unbeaten streak until the loss to Stade Rennes away last week, this win shows what the team is made of. AJ Auxerre is the little club in Ligue 1, placing only 15th in attendance out of 20 with 12,653 faithful to cheer the men on, and yet they have the strength to beat last year’s Ligue 1 champions Olympique Lyonnais. Perhaps the team isn’t the strongest, nor is it the most popular, but there is no reason why, with their current form, they cannot ride their confidence and stay at least on the top half of the league. I’m not going to say that they should try for a UEFA spot, because 15 points is a lot of ground to cover, but we shouldn’t have to worry about fighting relegation anymore. If Jean Fernandez’s men can find a way to beat the champs, away from home, there is no reason why they should not find a way to beat the rest of ‘em.

Now, the little team has gotten quite lucky in winning as much as they have: Lyon practically dominated the entire game, with possession over 24% in Lyon’s favor (38% to 62%). Injuries combined with the general lack of composure from a team fighting relegation had hampered Auxerre’s play for the first half, but now there is a certain spark in the team. It’s not much, but in my opinion two things have combined to drive les Auxerrois onto their great second half thus far: the return of main striker Ireneusz Jelen, who has been on absolute fire since coming back, scoring 4 goals in the 7 games he has played since his return, and the return to overrall form thanks to a decrease in injuries. As of now Jean-Pascal Mignot and Dennis Oliech are very close to fitness, as the two have begun special individual recovery programs.

Julien Quercia, who had an operation two weeks ago on his knee due to tendinitis is only a couple of weeks from returning to the pitch. Finally Robert Popov has caught some sort of ilness, but he is expected to return next week after symptoms ease up. Hopefully, with everyone contributing, the team can continue its very nice run down the stretch and end up well in the top half of the table. Auxerre’s strength lies not in the ability to create chances, but rather to capitalize on them. So far, so good.