The start of the season wasn’t ideal for Les Lionceaux, with one win in the first two months of fixtures, losing to teams like Marseille and Montpellier. They did have some sparks of life though, with a 1-0 win against Saint-Etienne, followed by the 3-1 smashing of Troyes at the Stade-Bonal. Sochaux’s inconsistency was there for all to see, ending the first half of the season with three wins and four draws, and were instantly favourites for relegation. A horrible moniker to hold through the winter break, but eventually the team came back even stronger.
After elimination from the Coupe de La Ligue to Saint-Etienne, they bounced back knocking Thaon out of the Coupe de France in the 9th round and the run continued against Montpellier in Round of 32. The 3-2 win against Montpellier and 3-1 shock win against Marseille in the league gave the team a huge boost and hope for the rest of the season. Fast forwarding to February, Sochaux surprised everyone by coming out on top in one of the games of the season. After going behind to title contender’s PSG, Eric Hely’s men battled back and shocked the Parisians with a 3-2 victory.
Knocked out of the Coupe de France by Troyes in a match that Sochaux could easily have won may have been a blessing in disguise. After wins over Lyon and Lorient, the shock draw at Lille gave the squad hope going into May. Faced with a relegation battle, it would take wins over Breton sides Lorient and Brest to secure safety, finishing 15th and assuring a spot in Ligue 1 for next season.
Not one player deserves all the credit for Sochaux’s survival, a real team mentality saved the day. Simon Pouplin’s performances in goal deserve huge praise; taking over from the legendary Teddy Richert he made some incredible saves to keep the club alive. Sebastien Corchia has also received rave reviews but the outstanding player of the season has to go to forward Giovanni Sio who arrived in January. On loan from Wolfsburg, the Frenchman provided that cutting edge that they had lacked in the first half of the season.
Vital goals against PSG, Rennes, Lyon and Toulouse, without Sio there is little doubt that Sochaux would be planning for a season in Ligue 2. For someone to come in on loan and provide an instant reaction deserves real praise.
The players must take huge credit for saving their Ligue 1 status; the 5-1 demolition at the hands of Evian could have put the club on a downward spiral and sealed their fate. It was an atrocious performance, and all confidence at the club could have been annihilated by that one performance. However, down 3-0 away at Lille and looking certain for the drop, something stirred inside the players and that crazy 15 minutes that saw them steal a 3-3 draw was certainly a key moment in Sochaux’s survival. Bizarrely the team from Montbéliard are the only club to beat the top four teams this season; when they want to, they can give any team in Ligue 1 a run for their money.
FINAL POSITION: 15th
Review by @TNCProject