Corsican Dreams, French Revolution: Part 5
Even Marcu Padovani himself admitted his side were more than lucky to come away from the Stade Armand Cesari with all three points back in October. Making the short trip down to Borgo, SC Bastia were not going to let lightning strike twice.
Experienced winger Florian Raspentino put the visitors 1–0 after just nine minutes, popping up at the back post unmarked. Much to the delight of the home fans Mohamed Hamdi pulled his team back almost instantly, powering a header beyond Thomas Vincensini.
Analysing the stats, the game looked like an even contest, which is remarkable given Jean-François Grimaldi was sent off for a second yellow after just 22 minutes.
Borgo held strong, but their resolve broke in the 56th minute when Raspentino picked up his second of the game and seal the 2–1 victory.
In the coming weeks injuries to full-back Makan Traore, and the versatile duo of Alexandre Cropanese and Isaak Umbdenstock forced Padovani to change his shape again. Théo Barbet pushed into the left-back slot, creating two banks of four to try and keep that solid defensive base.
This 4–4–2 saw FC Bastia-Borgo pick up two wins before being held by Red Star in a goalless draw.
Despite their lowly position in the table FC Annecy proved a tough opponent and handed the spectators an eight-goal thriller. From going 2–0 up — another brace from Wilson Isidor — the away side were pegged back before half-time and then 3–2 down just after Padovani’s teamtalk.
Umbdenstock pushed forward and scored twice from left midfield to push FCBB over the line for a breathtaking 5–3 victory. Ten points over four games was just the tonic this squad needed, taking them up to the heady heights of second with just four games to go.
Discipline is the one thing which had let this side down and it reared it’s ugly head again as François Lajugie saw red for the second time this season as Bastia-Borgo were help goalless in a draw against Boulogne.
Going into the away fixture at Bourg en Bresse, nothing but a win would keep the minnows in the promotion mix and as the clock ticked into injury time, with only one shot on target, heads were down.
Then, a fateful long ball up to Isidor was caught perfectly on the turn by the striker. You would think from someone who has hit 31 goals in 31 games would be looking to notch another, but with his head up, he slipped it inside to Geoffrey Durbant…
Three crucial points. One game closer to the unthinkable. Only two things stood in Bastia-Borgo and Ligue 2. Stade Laval and US Creteil.
Two fixtures remaining and just the prospect of taking on the teams in third and fourth respectively. As amazing a season it had been, any slip up now and the dreams of playing in the second tier would be lost.
Although no one would have expected this brand new club to climb this high this fast, it feels like an opportunity missed not to finish the job given they sit in the automatic promotion place with just 180 minutes of football to play.
First up, Stade Laval, and it didn’t start well. Dorian Caddy finishing from the spot after four minutes, but as his been the story with this squad, they never let their heads drop.
Lajugie with a delightful ball over the top of the Laval defence found Joan Campins leaking in at the back post and the right-back smashed in his only goal of the season. What a time to turn up.
The game would finish with both sides having 12 shots on target, and two clear cut chances, but it was the very last which proved crucial. Isidor broke down the right, raced into the box, only to be brought down before he could pull the trigger… PENALTY.
Injury time. Up stepped the 20-year-old forward and with the weight of the world — or Borgo — on his shoulders, he blasted the pen past the helpless keeper. 2–1. Game over.
Bastia-Borgo would go into the final game of the season in second place. Unlikely to catch SC Bastia in first, although only one point behind, the league leaders faced FC Annecy on the final day.
Borgo’s biggest challenge would be US Creteil, but the Parisian side first had to dispatch Stade Briochin to keep themselves within a point of second. Sitting bottom of the table, it seemed a formality.
Or not…
PROMOTION
The odds were against them, but somehow they did the impossible.
In his first season in charge, Padovani had, against all odds, masterminded the side from the island of Corsica into France’s second tier.
A final day draw against Creteil was a mere formality, the mood in the club lifted even further with the announcement of Wilson Isidor’s loan deal extended until the end of next season.
Talk spread around regarding the club’s move to becoming professional and even the prospect of a new stadium, but expansion would wait for another day. This was a day for the players to remember forever, this group would be remembered as the men who achieved the impossible.
Every story has a beginning and an ending, but which would this be?
