The players from Yzeure (Allier) played in the final of the French Women’s Football Cup on Sunday 15 May. Despite a heavy defeat (8-0), the Bourbonnaises are very proud of their career.
Paris Saint-Germain won their third Women’s French Cup on Sunday in Dijon following beating amateur club Yzeure (Allier), 3rd in Division 2, by 8-0, for which the party might have turned into a real nightmare if the PSG had not eased off. The score was 5-0 following only thirteen minutes of play and 6-0 at half-time, reflecting the chasm between a European level formation, eliminated in the semi-finals of the Champions League by Lyon this season (3 -2, 2-1), 2nd in the D1, and a formation in which all the players work before training five evenings a week, and this in precarious conditions far removed from those ultra-modern enjoyed by the players of Didier Olle-Nicolle in Bougival (Yvelines). A chasm like the score which is the biggest recorded for a final of this event, the first edition of which ended in 2002. Deprived of the European final and left behind in the French championship with five points behind OL two days from the end, undermined by the turmoil of the Kheira Hamraoui affair, still dismissed, the Parisians will therefore, very probably, be satisfied with this meager consolation prize. Here are all the goals in video.
Clara Moreira, midfielder from Yzeure, pays tribute to the winning club: “It was a waking dream. We struggled to find the rhythm, of course, PSG were semi-finalists in the Champions League, everything is going faster and with more intensity. It was a great pleasure, We took full advantage. In the last minutes, we were smiling. It’s already incredible to have come this far with the means we have and the structures we have, it’s extraordinary. I’m very proud , very proud of the team and the course. PSG respected us, gave us eight goals. They are better than us. We have a lot of work, it shows. The beginning was difficult, there is a mixture of “emotions, these are moments that we don’t experience every day. Our team is young too, we have to learn from experience. It will remain a very beautiful memory. Of course, the score is a bit squeaky. But they have been great, they allowed us to lift the Cup with them”.
Admittedly, critics will claim that they won without glory, but the final constituted for PSG, and its eight million euro budget, the easiest obstacle following successively eliminating Dijon (0-0, 5 -4 tab), Lyon (3-0), Montpellier (3-1) and Fleury (4-2), all residents of the elite. For his part, Yzeure, 275,000 euros to complete his season, who only lined up, as usual, fifteen players on the match sheet for both sporting and budgetary reasons, only faced opponents less than or equal to to his to climb up there. This is what gave this unbalanced final, even if the Bourbonnaises counted until the end on the support of their thousand supporters out of 7,000 spectators. Thus, following bringing the score to 5-0 by Sara Dabritz with a right-footed shot in the 13th minute, the Parisiennes stopped celebrating their goals at 6-0, like Marie-Antoinette Katoto who scored three times with a header in the first period (3, 7, 31) as did Paulina Dudek (3-0, 10).
Ophélie Meilleroux, coach of Yzeure, said : “We knew that PSG had qualities superior to ours, in particular its offensive strength and the watchword was to have fun, to give everything to have no regrets. In the match, the Parisiennes made the difference and it’s logical. My players have been able to see the room for development they can have in their careers. At 5-0, I told them to continue and not to give up. We had told each other before the match. We had imagined a lot of scenarios. We have to be realistic, we are in D2 and they are playing in the European Cup with many internationals. There is no difficulty in having, the step is so high. I am proud of my players and despite the score, they didn’t give up. They had fun despite the defeat, enjoying the moment until the end, that’s important. After the quarter-final once morest Rodez, we felt a real enthusiasm behind us. We hope to now receive much more support following our journey so that our our club continues to grow. Our budget is very low and despite this we are at the top of the table in D2”. For his part, Ashley Lawrence scored the fourth goal from a shot under the bar (4-0, 12) and the seventh from a distant attempt (7-0, 59). Dabritz offered himself a double (8-0, 73). As soon as half-time returned, Grace Geyoro also found the post (47) and Yzeure had to wait until the 60th minute to trigger her only shot on target by Maelys Goumeziane.
