After the poor start they made to the season, no one would have expected Guingamp to be in their current position. Relatively safe in mid-table, they now have a chance to return to the Stade de France and defend the trophy they surprisingly won last season.
Auxerre will be no pushovers however. The second-tier side are somewhat cup specialists and have only lost five out of six matches they have played at this stage of the competition, that last defeat coming in 1989 against Marseille. On four of those occasions they went on to lift the Cup. Guingamp will need to be up for the fight on Tuesday night.
AJ Auxerre – by Steve Wyss
Story so far
On paper, Auxerre have had a very easy route to the semi-final of the Coupe de France. Until now, they have not faced a Ligue 1 side and only had to beat fellow Ligue 2 opposition once during this run. Even then, they’ve made hard work of making it to this stage. In the last two rounds they needed penalties to see off Le Poire sur Vie and Brest, but what matters most is that they managed to progress. The 0-0 draw against Brest in the quarter final was hardly a classic, and both teams cancelled each other out. In their last two shoot-outs, Auxerre only missed one penalty, and that has been the key to their success.
The Burgundian outfit are one of the most solid and hard-to-beat sides in the whole of Ligue 2. Since the end of August, they’ve only lost four matches, all against respectable opposition in games in which they were second favourites. Draws have been a slight Achilles heel and probably the main reason why they aren’t seriously threatening the promotion positions. At the time of writing, they are four points adrift of third spot, which might be too much of a gap to make up with so little time remaining this season. Despite all this, they have to be classed as one of the strongest sides in the division and will be no pushovers for Guingamp here.
Team News
Team news is relatively favourable for AJA ahead of this match, but as usual there are some doubts about certain individuals who are often on the treatment table. The most notable potential absentee is playmaker Vincent Gragnic who has missed the last two games. Gragnic is a quality player but often carrying some sort of knock so it’ll be a late decision whether or not he starts. Fellow midfielder Amara Baby is even more doubtful after picking up a knock in Friday night’s game. It looks like winger Frederic Sammaritano should be fit enough to start here, but he’s another who limped off on Friday night. No preview of Auxerre would be complete without mentioning the legendary Sebastien Puygrenier. He will captain the side for this contest and his experience at the back will be invaluable in such a massive match.
It looks Le Stade de l’Abbe Deschamps will be a complete sell-out. Only 2,000 tickets are still available, and it’s likely those will be snapped up before kick-off. It’s actually very unusual that Auxerre come anywhere near close to full capacity, so this shows the magnitude of this tie. Guingamp are the defending champions, have more experience in big games like this and have that little bit of extra quality, but expect Auxerre to be very competitive here. On paper, this is a very strong Ligue 2 team and they do have potential match-winners in their ranks like Vincent Gragnic. With a passionate home support behind them there is no reason why they can’t make it all the way to the Stade de France. Guingamp won this competition as a Ligue 2 side in 2009. It would be ironic if Auxerre followed in the same footsteps by beating them along the way!
EA Guingamp – by Jeremy Smith
How they got there
As Coupe de France defences go, Guingamp could not have hoped for much easier a run than they have had so far this year: Tuesday’s semi-final against Auxerre will be their fifth straight tie against non-Ligue 1 opposition and only their second against Ligue 2 opponents.
That is not to say that the current Coupe holders have had things all their own way. After taking a while to break down CFA2’s Dinan-Léhon and Ligue 2’s Chateauroux in their first two rounds, they then showed real brinksmanship to survive the next two matches. In the Round of 16, they needed an equaliser in the last seconds of normal time to avoid a giant-killing at the hands of CFA club AS Yzeure.
Then in the quarter-final, played at Lorient’s Stade du Moustoir, Guingamp met US Concarneau, of the CFA, for the second consecutive year and, again, they struggled to beat their Breton neighbours. Christophe Mandanne gave Jocelyn Gourvennec’s men a very early lead, powering home after some penalty area pinball, but Christophe Gourmelon equalised mid-way through the first half with a first time shot that looped over Samassa. As the clock ticked past 90 minutes, the tie looked to be heading to extra time, as it did last year. Step forward Claudio Beauvue, so often Guingamp’s hero this year, who hit an unstoppable free kick from 30 yards out which sailed past Seznec into the top corner, dragging les Guingampais back into the semi-final.
Team News
Against Concarneau, and with Guingamp still in the Europa League at the time, Gourvennec played around with his starting eleven a little, resting some regulars, including Lössl in goal and Beauvue, who began the match on the bench. However, against stronger opposition and with the Coupe now the only trophy Guingamp have to play for, a stronger line-up will be expected, and a front two of Beauvue and Mandanne will provide intimidating opposition for Sébastien Puygrenier and his Auxerre teammates. Central defence could be a problem for Guingamp, as Benjamin Angoua and Christophe Kerbrat are both suspended and unable to partner Jeremy Sorbon. Another important player, Sylvain Marveaux, is also a fitness doubt.
Form
Guingamp’s long season has appeared to be catching up with them in recent weeks, as they have lost five of their last eight in all competitions, most recently 1-3 at home to Lyon. However, they did win their most recent away match, 2-1 at Nice, albeit in an empty stadium, the Nice fans having been banned. Although Beauvue scored his team’s consolation against Lyon, his form has slipped too. However, in true Guingamp team-ethic style, strike partner Christophe Mandanne has stepped up: in 2015 he has scored five Ligue 1 goals, three in the Coupe de France and one in the Europa League.
Verdict
While Auxerre are still in with a chance of promotion from Ligue 2 and must surely prioritise that, Guingamp have the advantage of being able to put all their eggs in the Coupe de France basket. Playing in front of their Abbé-Deschamps supporters will be a big plus for the Auxerrois, but their superior class and the incentive of a return to the Stade de France to defend their title should, on paper, see Guingamp through. It may be very tight though, and could well go to extra time, if not penalties.