The spectators at the Roudourou stadium on Saturday spent a very enjoyable afternoon watching the spectacle of En Avant Guingamp and Toulouse, more than ever leaders of Ligue 2 after their victory in Brittany (4-2). There will have been commitment, desire and spectacular goals. Anyway, to those wondering about the motivation of certain teams that have nothing left to play this season, Guingamp replied bluntly.
By equalizing quickly by El Hadji Ba (31st), then taking advantage of an incredible attack by Mehdi Merghem who put the ball into the right corner of Maxime Dupé (34th), the EAG responded to Rafael Ratao’s opener ( 16th). Even when Toulouse took the lead again in second, Stéphane Dumont’s players never gave up. The Bretons, who had been dominated until then (63% possession for Téfécé), have also been able to take advantage of the unusual generosity of the Toulouse people, between the loss of the ball or the lack of aggressiveness on the opponent’s ball carrier.
Healey back on his cloud
The Haut-Garonnais had got off to a good start, however, in a confused period as Guingamp moved up to ten after the elimination due to Arthur Vitelli’s injury, after a nudge from Rhys Healey, which could have resulted in the suspension. Ado Onaiwu, shifted to the right, center back for Ratao, the author of his 10th goal this season (16th).
But Toulouse has masterful weapons this season. We think of Branco van den Boomen, author of his 18th and 19th assists, but especially Healey. The England striker was less effective in the first two months of 2022 and has regained his excellent mental and guts. From a tight angle, he dared to strike from the left and placed the ball under the crossbar of Enzo Basilio’s goal to equalize (38th). And just after the recovery, on a corner by Van den Boomen, a priori not well hit, he almost managed to put the ball with his back to goal (48th) in the opposite net on a header.
It wasn’t enough for him. On a free kick, this time masterfully taken by Van den Boomen, he jumped very high to divert the ball with his head and score a brilliant hat-trick (75th). With 19 goals on the clock, Healey is on his way to the title of top scorer in Ligue 2. With these four goals, Toulouse equals the record set by Nimes six days before the end of the season, who had scored 75 goals in 2017 – 2018. This The figure almost only illustrates Téfécé’s dominance over Ligue 2 (11 points ahead of AC Ajaccio, 13 on Paris FC). A championship he would have to leave, barring an unlikely collapse, to return to the elite in 2022-23.
