Laval secured a 2-1 victory over Nantes at the Stade Francis-Le Basser in Ligue 2's second round of the regular season on Thursday evening. The hosts had to weather a sustained period of pressure from the visitors before finding their winner in stoppage time.
Travis Dago gave Laval the lead in the seventeenth minute, a moment that settled the opening exchanges. Nantes responded well and equalised before halftime through Houssem Guirassy in the forty-fourth minute. The visitors dominated possession at 59 per cent and created more attacking opportunities, but Laval's defence held firm.
And here's the thing about the second half: Nantes pushed harder but could not find a winner. They registered nine shots to Laval's seven, yet only three found the target. The hosts made key changes at sixty-five minutes, bringing on both Dago and Maggiotti, though the striker had already scored. The momentum shifted when M. Houdayer struck in the ninetieth minute and then doubled his tally in the ninety-fifth.
By then, the stadium had a different atmosphere. Laval completed their substitutions with Sellouki coming on in the ninety-seventh minute, while the visitors saw their clean-sheet hopes vanish. Maggiotti collected a second yellow card on the final whistle, but the game was already decided.
The statistics tell a story of control without conversion. Nantes dominated possession and created more chances, but Laval were more clinical when it mattered. Both sides remain level on four points after five games each, with Laval holding seventeenth place and Nantes nineteenth before this match.
The result means Laval move off the bottom of the table, while Nantes must now regroup after a disappointing display at home. Three points from a game where they looked set for a point or two says something about the nature of football.