OGC Nice: SOS, attackers in distress

The image of the one-on-one Evann Guessand lost on the Roazhon Park pitch sums up the situation fairly accurately. Opportunities, but no success for Nice's attacking players, silent since March 29th and Jérémie Boga's opening goal on the pitch of their Monaco neighbors.

In Rennes again, the closest the player came to scoring wasn't a striker, but Antoine Mendy, whose header crashed against Brice Samba's post. No matter how you look at the puzzle, it's been six matches since the Gym forwards failed to score.

For former Gym midfielder Stéphane Collet, who played 133 games between 1992 and 1996, Evann Guessand's exit from the starting lineup didn't help cure the problems. " I love Franck Haise and what he brings. But Guessand is our key striker; he's the one who's carried the attacking sector this season. Putting him on the bench because he's less fit could have affected his confidence, but also some of the squad, those close to him. " The brief stint on the bench of the home team's top scorer (11 goals) wasn't offset by the introductions of Cho, Boga, or Diop, despite the chance given to each by Franck Haise.

A deeper evil?

While the Ivorian hasn't scored in seven matches, Gaëtan Laborde has fared worse. After a successful winter period, the former La Paillade player has alternated between starting roles, where he's been very useful in his combat, self-sacrifice, and pivotal play, and less accomplished performances. He hasn't scored in 11 matches, including the Gym's 3-1 victory in Le Havre. Former Aiglons striker between 1993 and 1998, Patrice Alberganti, believes that this lack of effectiveness isn't just down to Guessand and Laborde's struggles. "When early chances don't end up in the net, you can feel doubt creeping into the minds of the Nice attackers. It's a deep and recurring problem, even if it's resurfaced much less in Nice this year."

Throughout April, Ndayishimiye, Sanson, and the Pistons, Bard, and Abdi, took over from their attackers and saved Gym's skin. " Franck Haise's play guarantees repeated attacking situations. He allows the midfielders and defenders to operate the lever, because they play very high up the pitch ," continues Patrice Alberganti.

"You have to stay spontaneous"

The fact remains that the non-strikers failed to repeat, once again in Rennes, this small feat: that of getting out of it despite a weak attacking sector. So, how to escape this bad patch? With the arrival of Brest at the Allianz Riviera looming, a final meeting that the Nice attackers would be well advised to leave their mark on, to secure ^4th place in terms of points but also in terms of goal average vis-à-vis Lille and Strasbourg.

Patrice Alberganti has his own take on the answer. " A striker lacking confidence loses his spontaneity. Often, he'll want to put himself in the best position to score, and take too many touches of the ball. That's when you overplay and become less effective, " sighs the man with 24 appearances for the Gym, who reinforces. " The key is to never doubt. You have to remain spontaneous and in that killer spirit in front of goal. But you only achieve that by taking refuge in work, repeating the same moves in training. "

As of the final day, only Badredine Bouanani (3 assists) has been decisive in the last six matches among the attackers. An example to follow for a sector that has been convincing until now.