Buoyant Strasbourg make Bordeaux whine

Strasbourg followed up their win over pacesetters Paris Saint-German with a convincing victory on Friday night against Bordeaux. On 2 December, Strasbourg inflicted the first defeat of the season on PSG. It finished 2-1 at the Stade de la Meinau.

Former Nice star Stéphane Bahoken scored Strasbourg's winner against PSG and struck the first in Strasbourg's win over Bordeaux. AFP/Valéry Hache

Nuno Da Costa and Stéphane Bahoken were the local heroes last Saturday.

On Friday night at the Matmut Atlantique, Bahoken was again on the scoresheet. He struck after two minutes and Dimitri Lienard got the second just before the pause.

Martin Terrier add the third 25 minutes from time to complete a victory that enabled Strasbourg to leapfrog Bordeaux in mid table and continue a five game unbeaten streak that has harvested 11 out of 15 points. "I wouldn’t say it was a perfect match. But we did well," said Strasbourg coach Thierry Laurey. "To come to Bordeaux and win 3-0 is not insignificant.”

While newly promoted Strasbourg revel in their recent surge, Bordeaux are in a slump. They have won only one of their nine matches since they were battered 6-2 by PSG at the Parc des Princes on 30 September.

"We’re going through a bad patch,” admitted Bordeaux coach Jocelyn Gourvennec. “Strasbourg scored early and gained confidence. We weren’t solid and when you’ve got one team that’s confident and the other one that is tentative, it makes a huge difference."

The 45-year-old added: “It was a bad evening. It was as simple as that. It was an evening when nothing works. We didn’t do enough to get anything out of the game. We’ve always turned up for matches – even when we got beaten by PSG in September – they were just too good - but for the first time against Strasbourg, we didn’t compete.

"At moments like this, we’ve just got to admit it, work hard and show that e’re working hard - that’s what matters."

While their players were being outwitted on the field, Bordeaux supporters heckled the team and chanted for Gourvennec’s dismissal. “I understand the anger of the supporters – but it is not helping.

"I’m going to put my time and energy into the things that I can control. After that, comments and insinuations are what they are and I can’t stop them.”