Première Ligue de Saintonge 20/21 (Football) (Solo | Image-Heavy)

The Première Ligue (1° Ligue) is the top tier of the Santonian men's professional football system, comprising 20 teams. The league is overseen by the Santonian Football Federation (Fédération saintongeaise de football, FSF). The champions of the 1° Ligue (the team that finished the most points in the league table) wins the Coupe des Ligues, while the winners of the knockout cup competition that is open to all teams in the top 3 leagues in the Santonian football system gets the Coupe de Saintonge. The two usually face off at the beginning of the new season to win the Trophée royal des Champions.

The current holder of the Trophée royal des Champions is Saintes-Saints-Brice FC (the winner of the Coupe des Ligues in 2019/20 season), who defeated second-tier team En Avant Saintes (the winner of the Coupe de Saintonge in 2019/20 season), 3-1.

These are the teams currently in the Première Ligue de Saintonge this 2020/21 season. More information can be seen in the subsequent posts.

In this thread the results of the 1° Ligue games will be posted. Stay tuned for updates!

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These are the teams currently in the Première Ligue de Saintonge this 2020/21 season. The list is arranged in alphabetical order.

Artois SC
Full Name: Artois Sports Club
Short Name: Artois
FSF Code: ART
Hometown: Arthus (Argens)
Stadium: Stade ducal d'Artois
Capacity: 40,654
Manager: Raymond Leborgne

AS Aurigny
Full Name: Association sportive d'Aurigny
Short Name: Aurigny
FSF Code: AUR
Hometown: Aurigny (Seudre)
Stadium: Stade d'Aurigny
Capacity: 45,845
Manager: Louis-Patrice Clamanne

SC Bâle
Full Name: Sporting club de Bâle
Short Name: Bâle
FSF Code: BAL
Hometown: Bâle (Sarine)
Stadium: Stade de Bâle
Capacity: 56,152
Manager: Philippe-Arthur Sillery

AS Beaucaire
Full Name: Association sportive de Beaucaire
Short Name: Beaucaire
FSF Code: BCR
Hometown: Beaucaire (Capoterre)
Stadium: Stade de Capoterre
Capacity: 41,065
Manager: Jules-Damien-Alexandre Thibon de Villehardouin

Stade Béthon 50
Full Name: Stade Béthon 1950
Short Name: Stade Béthon
FSF Code: BET
Hometown: Béthanie (Rance)
Stadium: Stade Béthon
Capacity: 48,652
Manager: Claude Barbet

Stade Beaunais FC
Full Name: Stade Beaunais Football Club
Short Name: Beaune
FSF Code: BNE
Hometown: Beaune (Côle)
Stadium: Stade Beaunais
Capacity: 52,362
Manager: Barthélemy Quénault

AJ Saint-Tobie-de-Coire
Full Name: Association de la Jeunesse de Saint-Tobie de Coire
Short Name: St-Tobie de Coire
FSF Code: COI
Hometown: Coire (Haine)
Stadium: Stade de Saint-Tobie
Capacity: 60,564
Manager: Thibault-Tobie Brassart

Côme FC
Full Name: Côme Football Club
Short Name: Côme
FSF Code: COM
Hometown: Come (Simbruins)
Stadium: Stade ducal des Pouilles
Capacity: 66,874
Manager: Martin-Joseph Tribouillard

Espérance SC Loudun
Full Name: Espérance Sports Club de Loudun
Short Name: Espérance Loudun
FSF Code: LDN
Hometown: Loudun (Doire)
Stadium: Stade d'Espérance
Capacity: 50,165
Manager: Victor-Guillaume Birotteau

USL Novale
Full Name: Union Sportive du Littoral de Novale
Short Name: Novale
FSF Code: NOV
Hometown: Novale (Basses-Alpes)
Stadium: Tech Parc
Capacity: 50,845
Manager: Carlo del Porco

Olympique Nyonnais FC
Full Name: Olympique Nyonnais Football Club
Short Name: Olympique Nyonnais
FSF Code: NYN
Hometown: Nyon (Bouche-du-Rhâne)
Stadium: Stade des Princes
Capacity: 71,652
Manager: Jean-Pierre Remond

Excelsior AC Perthus
Full Name: Excelsior Athletic Club de Perthus
Short Name: Excelsior Perthus
FSF Code: PER
Hometown: Perthus (Basses-Brômes)
Stadium: Stade Thibault-Gaetjens
Capacity: 39,162
Manager: Matthieu-André Gallet

FC Plaisance
Full Name: Football club de Plaisance
Short Name: Plaisance
FSF Code: PLA
Hometown: Plaisance (Corb)
Stadium: Parc de la Pointe Plaisante
Capacity: 44,516
Manager: Olivier Jovelet

Provins Football Puy-d'Or
Full Name: Provins Football Puy-d'Or
Short Name: Provins Puy-d'Or
FSF Code: PRV
Hometown: Provins (Puy-d'Or)
Stadium: Parc de Champagne
Capacity: 42,658
Manager: Louis-Philippe Jomard

CO Ratisbonne
Full Name: Club Odinspylique de Ratisbonne
Short Name: Ratisbonne
FSF Code: RAT
Hometown: Ratisbonne (Lauter)
Stadium: Parc Odinspylique
Capacity: 50,895
Manager: Joseph-Landéric Bussmann

Stade de Saintes FC
Full Name: Association royale sportive de Saintes - Stade de Saintes Football Club
Short Name: Stade de Saintes
FSF Code: SDS
Hometown: Saintes
Stadium: Stade de Saintes
Capacity: 80,165
Manager: Brice-Paul Charléty

Saintes-Saints-Brice FC
Full Name: Saintes-Saints-Brice Football Club
Short Name: Saintes-Saints-Brice
FSF Code: SSB
Hometown: Saintes
Stadium: Stade des Saints-Brice
Capacity: 57,162
Manager: Kévin Caillard

Tiffauges FC
Full Name: Tiffauges Football Club
Short Name: Tiffauges
FSF Code: TFF
Hometown: Tiffauges (Lignon)
Stadium: Stade de Théiphalie
Capacity: 34,989
Manager: Marc-Étienne Garrau

Coeur-Rouge de Torcy
Full Name: Coeur-Rouge de Torcy Sporting Club
Short Name: Torcy
FSF Code: TRC
Hometown: Torcy-le-Grand (Lisle)
Stadium: Parc des Torsades des Pointes
Capacity: 53,161
Manager: Paul-Sylvestre Maurel

FC Vantes de Domnonée
Full Name: Football Club de Vantes de Domnonée
Short Name: Vantes de Domnonée
FSF Code: VAN
Hometown: Vantes (Authie)
Stadium: Stade royal de Vantes
Capacity: 60,885
Manager: Marc-Rogatien Livolant

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The 2020-2021 season of Santonian football kicked off last Saturday, with the Northeast Derby between AJ St-Tobie de Coire and SC Bâle. The Cathedral Boys won on home ground, 2-1 with a goal each by Hugberg Steenstrup and Tobias Rönbeck. The largest win was Stade de Saintes’ 4-1 win over AS Aurigny, with The Dangerous Druron Dangereaux piling on the three-goal lead with his hat-trick, the first this season.

Week 2 was boring with three goalless drawn games: USL Novale vs Espérance SC Loudun, FC Vantes de Domnonée vs Stade Beaunais FC, and FC Plaisance vs Artois SC. The most lopsided game was Provins Football Puy-d’Or’s crushing of a hapless Stade Béthon 50. The Bethanians lost 5-0.

Stade de Saintes would’ve lost to a weak Excelsior Perthus FC were it not for a late Justin Cantalamessa equaliser that allowed the visitors to salvage a draw. Charléty’s boys would have to up their game. The biggest win was courtesy of Aurélien Thoret, who propelled Espérance SC Loudun to their first win this season: a 2-0 crushing of a struggling Coeur-Rouge de Torcy.

No more goalless draws this week as the dynamos of the Première Ligue teams started to rev up. Thibault-Gaëtan Mollevaut saved Provins Football Puy-d’Or from embarrassment on home ground against Olympique Nyonnais with an 89^th minute goal, ending the game with a 2-2 draw. Meanwhile, AS Aurigny staged a surprising comeback against Excelsior Perthus FC. The Aurignais, down 2-0 at halftime, surged with goals from Carlo Manlio Badaracco and Gaston Condorcet. An 86^th minute penalty goal from Badaracco sealed the game for Aurigny. In the Bethanian Derby, FC Vantes de Domnonée emerged victorious over Stade Béthon 50. On home ground, Stade de Saintes scored the biggest win of the week against Stade Beaunais FC: Charléty’s boys chased the Birds away with a 3-0 win.

Week 5 became even more exciting with less drawn games, with only Tiffauges FC and Excelsior Perthus FC settling for a 1-1 draw. AJ St-Tobie de Coire embarrassed their USL Novale hosts by winning 1-2, with another Hugberg Steenstrup goal from the midfield clinching the win. The erratic Stade de Saintes fell to FC Plaisance, with the Dogs winning 2-1, with Thorkell Langslet and Jourdain Lanthieri scoring. Saintes-Saints-Brice FC won their fifth straight game this season with a cakewalk over Coeur-Rouge de Torcy. The end score was a lopsided 6-2, with Kévin-Ardouin Cremillieux accomplishing the second hat-trick this season. Torcy’s goals weren’t even entirely theirs: one of their points was courtesy of an own goal by Saintes-Saints-Brice defender Alexandre Dufflocq.

Saintes-Saints-Brice remains on the top of the leaderboard, still undefeated. The other team with this winning streak is St-Tobie de Coire, but Saintes-Saints-Brice wins on goal difference.

Week 6 saw the top two teams crush their opponents. Saintes-Saints-Brice crushed a bumbling Excelsior Perthus FC in the Bulls’ territory, while St-Tobie de Coire gave Coeur-Rouge de Torcy a taste of defeat in Coire. The 7-3 score in favour of the Vikings is the most lopsided this week, aided by a hat-trick by Matthias-Aymeric Bombardier, plus two goals by their Prydanian import Tjörvi Hagtvedt. This was Hagtvedt’s first game with Coire and two goals right from the start is very impressive. Joram-Brice Lacombe snatched a win for USL Novale on home ground against Odinspylique de Ratisbonne. The Dogs stole the game from AS Aurigny with FC Plaisance’s Thorkell Langslet and Jourdain Lanthieri overcoming the 1-0 deficit at halftime. Meanwhile Stade de Saintes’ Druron Dangereaux and Finnbjörn Röyseland scored against a hapless Stade Béthon 50. The Bethanians need to improve on their defence.

The top of the leaderboard remain unchanged, with Saintes-Saints-Brice and St-Tobie de Coire undefeated for six games. Week 7 will be exciting as these two teams face off in Stade Saints-Brice.

Week 7 was a week of surprises. In the first shocker of the week, AJ St-Tobie de Coire humiliated defending champions Saintes-Saints-Brice FC in Saintes. The Vikings’ two Prydanian strikers, Tobias Rönbeck and Tjörvi Hagtvedt, scored in the first half as SSB’s disorganised defence gave way. Kévin-Ardouin Cremillieux’s heroics only resulted in one goal in the latter half, not enough to save the game. In another story of trying to catch up and failing, Tiffauges FC tried to overcome a 3-0 deficit against FC Plaisance. For a while, Florent Viochot’s own goal in the second half seemed to help Tiffauges, but ultimately Tiffauges lost 3-2. The last shocker was Provins Football Puy-d’Or vs USL Novale, where the game seemed to be heading for a 1-1- draw when Brice-Boëce Brisbois, a new striker drawn from the Novalais’ reserve team, lobbed the ball into the goal at the 82^nd minute.

The most lopsided game of the week goes to Odinspylique de Ratisbonne, which crushed the still-winless Coeur-Rouge de Torcy, 1-5. Benjamin-Timothée Röthlisberger ramped up the score with his first hat-trick this season.

Because of their win in Stade Saints-Brice, St-Tobie de Coire is now at the top of the leaderboard, undefeated in seven games.

Week 8 was full of draws, with Olympique Nyonnais and Stade de Saintes, Vantes de Domnonée and Espérance SC Loudun, and FC Plaisance and Excelsior Perthus FC drawing their games. St-Tobie de Coire’s new Prydanian acquisition seemed to pay off when Tjörvi Hagtvedt scored a goal in the last few minutes of a seemingly drawn game against Odinspylique de Ratisbonne. Brice-Duncan Soppy did the same for Provins Football Puy-d’Or, turning a 1-1 draw into a 2-1 win against Coeur-Rouge de Torcy. Conversely, midfielder Brice-Baudouin Schaerlaekens made miracles for Olympique Nyonnais, with his “Hail Mary” long goal at the 85th minute drew the game with Stade de Saintes.

The top two of the leaderboard remain unchanged, with St-Tobie de Coire at first place and Saintes-Saints-Brice at second. FC Côme’s win over AS Beaucaire propelled the Wolves to third place over Stade de Saintes.

Both of the top two teams disposed of their opponents with uncharacteristic difficulty. Benjamin-Timothée Röthlisberger’s goals kept tying Odinspylique de Ratisbonne’s score against Saintes-Saints-Brice, until a Matthieu-Donatien Kerbriant goal put the score at 3-2 at halftime. The SSB defence became more organised in the second half and no more goals were to be had. Meanwhile, the game between St-Tobie de Coire and Provins Football Puy-d’Or swung back and forth as Martin-Clarence Chautemps and Romain Cannizzaro equalised for the away team. Tobias Rönbeck finally put the home team over the top on the 78^th minute; Coire won 3-2.

Coeur-Rouge de Torcy looked to be heading to another defeat against Artois SC when Michel-Malcolm Coulthard’s heroics paid off with an equaliser three minutes left in the clock. On the other hand, AS Aurigny seemed resigned to a loss against Olympique Nyonnais when Carlo Manlio Badaracco scored twice in the second half and converted the loss to a win. Brice-Corentin Kermorgant scored his second hat-trick this season when his FC Vantes de Domnonée walloped USL Novale 4-2.

Côme FC’s loss to Espérance SC Loudun pushed them into fourth place behind Stade de Saintes on aggregate. Coeur-Rouge de Torcy’s draw with Artois SC lifted them off the bottom and ended their eight-game losing streak. The Hearts are above Stade Béthon 50 on aggregate, but are still in the relegation zone.

This was a week of few goals; nine of the teams did not score any. Of these nine, Saintes-Saints-Brice came as a surprise. For most of the game, it looked like that the game between SSB and FC Plaisance would end in a goalless draw… until Thorkell Langslet drove the ball into the net at the 85^th minute, winning the game for Plaisance. Three more games were won one-to-nil: Benjamin-Timothée Röthlisberger won for Odinspylique de Ratisbonne against Provins Football Puy-d’Or; Matthias-Aymeric Bombardier for St-Tobie de Coire against Artois SC; and Julien Gigantone for SC Bâle versus Excelsior Perthus FC. The most lopsided score was a 0-3 defeat of Stade Béthon 50: Stade Beaunais’ Timothée-Archambault Guyton and Aaron-Germain Denvers supplied the three goals.

The top six remained the same, but the points difference between St-Tobie de Coire and Saintes-Saints-Brice widened: the Vikings are a full six points ahead of SSB.

This was an exciting week only two of the fixtures ended in draws. FC Plaisance was on a roll, crushing Stade Béthon 50, 4-0, in what was the most lopsided win this week. Thorkell Langslet, hero of last week’s game against Saintes-Saints-Brice, scored a hat-trick against the Bethanians. Saintes-Saints-Brice also recovered form and defeated Provins Football Puy-d’Or on home ground, 5-2.

FC Vantes de Domnonée seemed to be poised to end the winning streak of St-Tobie de Coire by holding them down to a draw at Vantes last Saturday. The Vikings seemed to be behind, with the home team having the lead throughout most of the game. But a winning goal by Tjörvi Hagtvedt on stoppage time sealed the game for the Vikings. Meanwhile, in Nyon, Christophe Carmantrand scored a hat-trick in Olympique Nyonnais’ 6-3 destruction of neighbouring Excelsior Perthus FC.

The leaderboard showed only a few changes, with AS Beaucaire, AS Aurigny, and SC Bâle moving up one spot in the rankings.

Saintes-Saints-Brice FC crushed Stade Béthon 50, at the latter’s home ground, 1-5, thanks to a Matthieu-Donatien Kerbriant hat-trick. Stade Béthon 50’s goal wasn’t even theirs: a bumbling Alexandre Dufflocq scored an own goal.

Olympique Nyonnais and AJ St-Tobie de Coire disposed of their opponents 1-0 in tight games; fifth-ranked Côme FC was able to hold down AJ St-Tobie de Coire’s lead. After AS Aurigny led 1-0 at the 60th minute, USL Novale came back with two Brice-Boëce Brisbois goals. The most exciting game this week was between Espérance SC Loudun and Tiffauges FC. Tiffauges was down by one or two goals throughout the game, until Paul-Vincent Stofflet equalised the score 3-3 at the 78^th minute.

AJ St-Tobie de Coire remains on top of the leaderboard, undefeated for 12 games straight. Côme FC’s loss and Espérance SC Loudun’s draw make them slip down one spot.

Just like last week, Matthias-Aymeric Bombardier clinched the game for AJ St-Tobie de Coire in its difficult game against Stade de Saintes, allowing to to claim its 13^th straight victory this season. Coire’s defenders Hjálmthór Björklund and Snaebjörn Syrstad were able to tag and neutralise Stade de Saintes attackers Finnbjörn Röyseland and Druron Dangereaux.

Both the Provins Football Puy-d’Or – FC Vantes de Domnonée and Olympique Nyonnais – FC Plaisance were drawn boring games. In contrast, Saintes-Saints-Brice FC walloped Artois SC 6-2, with Kévin-Ardouin Cremillieux scoring his second hat-trick this season against the hapless Artesians.

The top ten of the leaderboard shifted significantly, with AS Beaucaire now sitting in third place, four points below Saintes-Saints-Brice FC. Coeur-Rouge de Torcy’s loss to AS Aurigny sinks it to the bottom of the scoreboard.

Maximilian-Ulrich Boerigter saved the game for Côme FC thanks to a goal in the 80th minute. Aaron-Germain Denvers and Brice-Boëce Brisbois did the same for Stade Beaunais FC and USL Novale, respectively.

AJ St-Tobie de Coire demolished AS Aurigny 0-3, with Coire’s three forwards scoring one goal each. Olympique Nyonnais also destroyed Stade Béthon 50, 4-1 on home ground. But the most lopsided score was FC Vantes de Domnonée’s 5-1 win over Artois SC. Brice-Corentin Kermorgant scored his third hat-trick for this season, lobbing in his third goal at extra time.

The top four in the leaderboard remain unchanged. Olympique Nyonnais’ massive win pushed it to fifth place above Côme FC on goal differences.

Coeur-Rouge de Torcy finally won a game this season, trouncing Excelsior Perthus FC 2-3. The game see-sawed back and forth, with Michel-Malcolm Coulhard’s hat-trick giving Torcy its first win. This leaves Artois SC as being the only winless team this season, as they lost to Côme FC 0-3.

Finnbjörn Röyseland scored the winning goal for Stade de Saintes against Provins Football Puy-d’Or after Druron Dangereaux equalised the game. Espérance SC Loudun came down from a 0-2 deficit against FC Plaisance to a 3-2 win. After FC Plaisance’s star defender Tristan-Emmanuel Poutlier was injured at the end of the first half, Plaisance’s defence faltered.

FC Vantes de Domnonée’s ascendance became even more apparent when they held last year’s champions Saintes-Saints-Brice FC to a 1-1 draw. Brice-Corentin Kermorgant equalised the game for FC Vantes de Domnonée while at the first half, handing the Saintais their third non-win this season.

The most lopsided win this week is Olympique Nyonnais’ 1-5 demolition of SC Bâle. All of Olympique Nyonnais’ forwards scored, and even its midfielder Brice-Baudouin Schaerlaekens scored one against a Bâle defence filled with holes.

Olympique Nyonnais piling up its scores propelled it to fourth place on goal differences, above Stade de Saintes. Coeur-Rouge de Torcy’s win put it at eighteenth place, three points behind SC Bâle in order to get out of the relegation zone.

Last year’s champions Saintes-Saints-Brice FC was showing signs of decline in its 1-1 away draw with Olympique Nyonnais. It was only a Matthieu-Donatien Kerbriant goal at the 80^th minute that equalised the game. Fellow Saintes team Stade de Saintes also struggled against Artois SC, clawing back a win with a Finnbjörn Röyseland goal. The victory at Arthus also cost Stade de Saintes one of its strikers: Justin Cantalamessa was injured in the latter half, putting him out of service for at least the next dozen games.

Espérance SC Loudun also encountered difficulties disposing of Stade Béthon 50 in Béthanie, with striker Alexis-Raphaël Touchevalier down with an illness. Victor-Guillaume Birotteau had to change tactics and formation in the second half by adding another striker – and it paid off brilliantly. Newcomer Styrfinnur Bergenhammer lobbed the ball into the net on the 79^th minute, securing a win for the away team. Another newcomer shone, this time for Stade Beaunais FC: Hallbjörn-Brice Bonsergent scored the away team’s third goal against Coeur-Rouge de Torcy.

The most lopsided win this week was AS Beaucaire’s 5-2 thrashing of SC Bâle. Tristan-Lambert Saint-Huile’s hat trick alone secured the win for the Griffonnians against their Sillanais rivals. One of the Bâlois’ goals weren’t even theirs; one of their points was an own goal by George-Victor Valleuil.

There was much shuffling in the leaderboards this week. Rising up the leaderboard are Olympique Nyonnais, Odinspylique de Ratisbonne, Ésperance SC Loudun, Stade Beaunais, and Provins Football Puy-d’Or. Going down are Stade de Saintes, FC Côme, Plaisance FC, USL Novale, FC Vantes de Domnonée, and Tiffauges FC. Despite much changes, the top three and the bottom four remained the same.

FC Côme suffered a setback after striker Maximilien Laclède sustained a hamstring injury during the first half of the game against Saintes-Saints-Brice FC, enabling the home team to seize the advantage in the latter half. Maximilian-Ulrich Boerigter had to step up, but his lone goal could not make up for the Kévin-Ardouin Cremillieux and Matthieu-Donatien Kerbriant tandem that scored three.

In another case of an injury, AJ St-Tobie de Coire’s reliable scorer Matthias-Aymeric Bombardier was also put out of service after colliding with Stade Beaunais defender Étienne-Jules Pruche. This left AJ St-Tobie de Coire’s junior strikers Tjörvi Hagtvedt and Tobias Rönbeck, along with its two flexible midfielder-strikers Hugberg Steenstrup and Thorbjörn Kjellander, to step up. The four players of Prydanian descent dubbed the “Vicious Vikings” furiously needled the Beaunais defence, netting three goals in the first half. Stade Beaunais managed to score once in the second half, when newcomer Hallbjörn-Brice Bonsergent (also of Prydanian descent), lobbed the ball into the net at the 68th minute.

Meanwhile, Odinspylique de Ratisbonne crushed their southern neighbours Excelsior Perthus FC, thanks to a Benjamin-Timothée Röthlisberger hat-trick, one of two this week. The other hat-trick was that of Carlo Manlio Badaracco of AS Aurigny, who led his home team to a 3-1 victory against Artois SC.

FC Vantes de Domnonée continued to falter, with Caël Hascoët’s lone goal unable to match the three goals by Stade de Saintes forwards Druron Dangereaux and Finnbjörn Röyseland.

FC Vantes de Domnonée continued to slip, falling to the bottom half of the rankings. Tiffauges FC’s and AS Aurigny’s wins pushed them up in the rankings. The top three and bottom three remain unchanged.

The match between former friends ended up in a draw: Saintes-Saints-Brice FC drew AS Beaucaire at the Stade de Capoterre. AS Beaucaire, which as a second-tier team used to received loaned players from Saintes-Saints-Brice FC (among the loaned players include the legendary Brice-Cédric Charbonneau), led in the first half, until a Matthieu-Donatien Kerbriant equaliser in the 40^th minute.

FC Côme lost to Stade de Saintes, with the Maximilian-Ulrich Boerigter equaliser buried by a Finnbjörn Röyseland goal near the close of the first half. Rising star Caël Hascoët carried FC Vantes de Domnonée to a 1-0 win over AS Aurigny in Vantes. Down south, Tiffauges FC surged in the second half against Artois SC, with newcomer Finnsteinn Groseth supplying half of the Dragons’ goals.

AJ St-Tobie de Coire continued its 18-game unbeaten streak this season by trumping FC Plaisance 3-0, despite its regular scorer Matthias-Aymeric Bombardier out due to injury.

The top and bottom four remain the same. AJ St-Tobie de Coire remain 12 points clear of second-placed Saintes-Saints-Brice FC, while AS Beaucaire edged out Stade de Saintes on goal differences. Meanwhile, goal differences is what kept Excelsior Perthus FC out of the relegation zone.

Next week marks the midseason and it is going to be exciting – the first game of the famous heated Derby de Saintes between Saintes-Saints-Brice FC and Stade de Saintes will be played at the Stade-Saints-Brice.

The Saintes derby ended with the cross-city rivals Saintes-Saints-Brice FC and Stade de Saintes settling for a goalless draw. Also ending in goalless draws are the games between FC Côme and AS Aurigny, and Provins Football Puy-d’Or and Stade Beaunais FC.

The new dynamo of Tiffauges FC Finnsteinn Groseth achieved his first hat-trick in the Première Ligue, putting up an insurmountable 4-0 lead over their FC Vantes de Domnonée visitors by the first half. Caël Hascoët and Brice-Corentin Kermorgant tried to catch up, but failed, scoring only three goals in the second half. AJ St-Tobie de Coire’s Vicious Vikings demolished Stade Béthon 50, with all four of them scoring: not content with a 3-1 score, midfielder-striker Thorbjörn Kjellander even snuck a long goal at the end of extra time.

The most exciting game was between Coeur-Rouge de Torcy and SC Bâle. The game see-sawed back and forth, with the Bears up by 2-0 at halftime. A goal by Michel-Malcolm Coulthard and an own goal by SC Bâle’s Jacques-Joseph Prunis equalised the game in the latter half. On the 82^nd minute Marc-Amédée Dourthe scored a goal, winning the game for Coeur-Rouge de Torcy. It could be said that SC Bâle was not at all happy at losing the game due to an own goal.

At the midseason, the top half remained stable, with only FC Vantes de Domnonée exiting the top half, to be replaced by AS Aurigny. That own goal sank SC Bâle into the relegation zone and saved their opponents Coeur-Rouge de Torcy.

L'Indépendant > Mercanti > Sports


by Gérard-Hugues Barbizet in Saintes
23 December 2020 - 1050h
SAINTES – Week 19 has finished and the Santonian Première Ligue football is now in its midseason, and it's now time for the traditional midseason statistics.

Read more here.

The hat-trick by FC Vantes de Domnonée’s Brice-Corentin Kermorgant propelled the team back to top half of the leaderboards, crushing Excelsior Perthus 4-2. However, the other hat-trick this week, by Timothée-Archambault Guyton for Stade Beaunais FC against Artois SC, was not enough to push the Eagles up the leaderboard.

Provins Puy-d’Or went up a notch after being down 2-0 in the first half against FC Plaisance. FC Plaisance was crippled in the second half with a injuries to star forward Thorkell Langslet and defender Fabrice Rabbone, allowing their visitors to run away with a win on the 80^th minute.

Espérance SC Loudun and USL Novale failed to catch up at home after their visitors, Saintes-Saints-Brice FC and AS Beaucaire, respectively, piled on goals in the first half. The same fate would’ve befallen AS Aurigny at home against Stade de Saintes, until a Carlo Manlio Badaracco equaliser on extra time left the game on a draw, leaving the Stade de Saintes two points behind AS Beaucaire in the leaderboard.

Meanwhile Maximilian-Ulrich Boerigter saved Côme FC’s home game against Tiffauges FC, scoring the winning goal at the 80th minute, the only one in the game. AJ St-Tobie de Coire’s Vicious Vikings needled SC Bâle’s defence, netting three goals in the first half, with an extra one from midfielder-turned-striker Hugberg Steenstrup in the second half. AJ St-Tobie de Coire’s unsteady midfield became apparent in the second half, but goalkeeper Thibault-Ragnar Guttormsen managed to maintain a clean sheet against SC Bâle.

Elsewhere, Couer-Rouge de Torcy surprised their Olympique Nyonnais hosts with a Michel-Malcolm Coulthard equaliser, with the Torcy defence significantly improving to deny the Wyverns additional chances to score. Torcy’s draw pushed it to two points above the relegation zone, above the luckless Excelsior Perthus FC.

AJ St-Tobie de Coire remains undefeated for twenty straight games this season, fourteen points clear of runner-up Saintes-Saints-Brice FC. The Archers could still be caught by AS Beaucaire and Stade de Saintes, who are hot on their heels being two and four points behind the defending champions, respectively.

SC Bâle, Artois SC, and Stade Béthon 50 remain in the relegation zone.

AJ St-Tobie de Coire defeated Olympique Nyonnais at home with difficulty. The Wyverns opened a 1-0 lead by halftime, thanks to an Antoine-Octavien Dragonetti header. Thorbjörn Kjellander, taking up forward duties, managed to equalise on the 52^nd minute. Prydanian import Tjörvi Hagtvedt piled up a lead on the 61^st, but was ultimately cancelled by a blistering Jason-Brice Laframboise attack on the 73^rd minute. The disorganised Coire defence scrambled to contain Laframboise, Dragonetti, and Christophe Carmantrand. The Vikings prevailed thanks to Tobias Rönbeck converting a Hugberg Steenstrup crosser to a goal on the 82nd minute. The last few minutes of the game saw off-pitch midfielder friends Steenstrup and Brice-Baudouin Schaerlaekens tussle over the ball as if they were longtime enemies. The Nyonnais loss made them slip one place below Côme FC. Ulstomian forward Ivan Kinner propelled Côme FC to a win over Excelsior Perthus FC with a 40^th minute goal.

USL Novale and FC Plaisance prevailed over their opponents, Espérance SC Loudun and Artois SC, enabling them to leapfrog FC Vantes de Domnonée, who drew Stade Beaunais FC. Santonian-Predicean player Michelangelo Serratello and Ulstomian player George O’Coffmar carried USL Novale and FC Plaisance, respectively, to a 0-1 visiting win over their opponents.

Also winning 0-1 over the home team is AS Beaucaire, propelled by Gérard-Jacob Bodinier, and Odinspylique de Ratisbonne, whose game was won by Benjamin-Timothée Röthlisberger.

Saintes-Saints-Brice FC pummelled AS Aurigny, with the visiting westerners initially able to keep up in the first two-thirds of the game. However, the Archers overwhelmed them in the last twenty minutes, with Matthieu-Donatien Kerbriant and Joël Beauchamp demolishing the enfeebled Aurignais defence after their main defender Gérard-Florent Quatennens got injured.

AJ St-Tobie de Coire maintains their twenty-one game winning streak this season, still fourteen points clear of runner-up Saintes-Saints-Brice FC. The Archers could still be caught by AS Beaucaire, two behind the defending champions.

SC Bâle, Artois SC, and Stade Béthon 50 remain in the relegation zone.

In the most surprising twist this week, AS Beaucaire destroyed the AJ St-Tobie de Coire steamroller, ending the Vikings’ 21-game winning streak. The Griffonians forced the visiting Vikings taste a 2-0 defeat, thanks to two Tristan-Lambert Saint-Huile goals in the second half. The Coire defence was shredded to bits with blistering attacks from Saint-Huile, Joshua-Samuel Hébras, and François-Artémond Chevreux de Marcillac. Miscommunication between defenders Snaebjörn Syrstad, Jacob-Alexandre Lagache, and Marco Aurelio Baldrighi enabled Saint-Huile to lob a second goal at the 80^th minute. The Viking defence broke down and a fight nearly ensued among the three defenders, which was amicably broken up by Hugberg Steenstrup and vice-captain Thorbjörn Kjellander.

More arguments ensued in the game between FC Plaisance and FC Vantes de Domnonée, with both teams playing a man down in the last quarter. Ulstomian midfielder Hugo Melladt for the home team was sent away on the 69^th minute, followed by FC Vantes de Domnonée’s defender Ronan Jacquaint earning a red card on the 72^nd minute. The game ended in a goalless draw.

Exciting games abounded this week, with multiple games see-sawing back and forth between teams. Tiffauges FC lost at home against AS Aurigny. A Finnsteinn Groseth equaliser at the 66^th minute was erased by a second late goal from Carlo Manlio Badaracco, leaving the home team shattered.

Espérance SC Loudun looked like it will draw Coeur-Rouge de Torcy after a Michel-Malcolm Coulthard heroic that drew the game on the 66^th minute. However, another Prydanian-Santonian footballer won the game: Styrfinnur Bergenhammer slammed the ball, deflecting off Torcy goalkeeper Gérald Gengembre’s hands and into the goal.

The game between Côme FC and Stade Beaunais FC swung wildly back and forth, with the game tied at halftime. The visitors opened a lead thanks to a Hallbjörn-Brice Bonsergent goal at the 63^rd minute, only to be cancelled when Maximilian-Ulrich Boerigter curled the ball into the net twelve minutes later. The Wolves and the Eagles fought over the ball viciously for the last quarter. The home team emerged victorious after Canute-André Leblond headed the ball into the goal on the 87^th minute.

Provins Football Puy-d’Or also seemed headed to a draw against SC Bâle on home ground when the Bears’ Julien Gigantone cancelled Romain Cannizzaro’s first half goal. The home team got back super late with a Brice-Duncan Soppy header on the 83^rd minute.

Meanwhile, the most lopsided score this week came from a 1-4 crushing of USL Novale by Saintes-Saints-Brice FC. Brice-Boëce Brisbois tried his hardest to catch up, but with a weak Novale midfield and defence, he could only do so much as the Archers dominated the possession of the ball.

Timothée-Samson Kerouedan lifted Stade Béthon 50 off the bottom of the scoreboard with his late goal in the game against the still-winless Artois SC, which sank to the bottom in its stead.
Not much changes in the top of the leaderboard, despite the Viking’s loss. The runners-up, Saintes-Saints-Brice FC, still have 11 points to catch up with the leaders. SC Bâle, Artois SC, and Stade Béthon 50 remain in the relegation zone.

Coeur-Rouge de Torcy sank into the relegation zone after losing to USL Novale. Michel-Malcolm Coulthard’s 61^st minute equaliser would not have been enough to prevent Torcy from sinking, as

SC Bâle won their game against Artois SC. Instead, USL Novale’s Michelangelo Serratello pushed Torcy further into the relegation zone with a goal at the 77^th minute, winning the game for the home team.

Two provincial derbies occurred this week. FC Vantes de Domnonée tamped down on a resurgent Stade Béthon 50 in the Derby du Nord-Ouest. Brice-Corentin Kermorgant scored a hat-trick in FC Vantes de Domnonée’s 4-2 win, with the other goal coming from a Caël Hascoët scissor kick.

The Derby des Pouilles between archrivals FC Plaisance and Côme FC ended with the Dogs defeating the Wolves 2-1 on home ground. Ulstomian striker George O’Coffmar and Predicean-Santonian forward Jourdain Lanthieri scored for the Plaisants; while another Ulstomian, Ronald Jorness repeatedly blocked countryman Ivan Kinner from scoring for the Comasques. Instead, it was Maximilian-Ulrich Boerigter that managed to score for the Wolves, but it was not enough for the visitors.

If the Ulstomians were battling it out in Plaisance, the Prydanians were duking it out in Coire. AJ St-Tobie de Coire managed to stop Espérance SC Loudun from claiming a draw by piling up a 2-0 lead in the first half, thanks to goals from Tobias Rönbeck and Tjörvi Hagtvedt. However, the tired Coirien front and their still-disorganised back enabled the Loudunais to seize the initiative in the second half. Styrfinnur Bergenhammer scored a goal in the 70^th minute after brushing off Snaebjörn Syrstad and Hjalmthór Björklund. Bergenhammer, who was a Coirien himself and a product of the AJ St-Tobie de Coire football academy, read his former teammates well and had to be repeatedly denied by goalkeeper Thibault-Ragnar Guttormsen. Coire had to switch to a 5-3-2 formation, with Syrstad, Björklund, Marco Aurelio Baldrighi, Jacob-Alexandre Lagache, and Austin Baucheton solidifying the defence and securing their win.

Defending champions Saintes-Saints-Brice FC went back to form, defeating Tiffauges FC at home with a 2-0 win, thanks to two goals from Kévin-Ardouin Cremillieux.

The other mover in the scoreboard was Olympique Nyonnais, which rose up thanks to an Antoine-Octavien Dragonetti goal in the second half against Provins Football Puy-d’Or.

Olympique Nyonnais caught up with Côme FC with 44 points, with the southerners edging out on goal differences. The Wyverns are just one point behind fourth-placed Stade de Saintes FC, who drew their away game against Stade Beaunais FC. Saintes-Saints-Brice FC and AS Beaucaire remain behind the current leader AJ St-Tobie de Coire.

At the bottom sit Coeur-Rouge de Torcy, Artois SC, and Stade Béthon 50.

Caël Hascoët’s hat-trick propelled FC Vantes de Domnonée up the leaderboards, leapfrogging over FC Plaisance, who drew Stade de Saintes FC, and USL Novale, who lost to AJ St-Tobie de Coire. FC Vantes de Domnonée crushed their SC Bâle hosts, 2-4, after opening with a very early Brice-Corentin Kermorgant goal.

Stade de Saintes FC’s goalless draw against FC Plaisance sank it down to sixth place as Druron Dangereaux and Finnbjörn Röyseland struggled against the Dogs’ dogged defence. Miscommunications with newcomer striker Folkbjörn Brondt caused missed opportunities Stade de Saintes FC. It could take time for Stade de Saintes FC’s front to gel and work together in Justin Cantalamessa’s absence. The saving grace for Stade de Saintes FC was that FC Plaisance’s offence was still weak, hampered by the absence of Thorkell Langslet.

Meanwhile Côme FC humiliated Stade Béthon 50, 3-5, as Maximilian-Ulrich Boerigter, Canute-André Leblond, and Ivan Kinner piled on goals to erase the work by Matthieu-Trimoël Kerbrat, Timothée-Samson Kerouedan, and an error of an own goal by Tom Donley.

Olympique Nyonnais downed their neighbours Artois SC Football, 1-3, leaving the Artesians still winless.

The game between AS Beaucaire and Provins Football Puy-d’Or see-sawed back and forth between the two, before finally being ended by a goal by Tristan-Lambert Saint-Huile one minute before the end of halftime.

The two leaders, Saintes-Saints-Brice FC and AJ St-Tobie de Coire, won their respective games. Saintes-Saints-Brice FC kept Coeur-Rouge de Torcy in the relegation zone by crushing them 1-3. Although in the first quarter, the home team had the upper hand, thanks to a Michel-Malcolm Coulthard goal, the visitors surged in the rest of the game.

Tjörvi Hagtvedt scored two goals for AJ St-Tobie de Coire against USL Novale. Unlike Stade de Saintes FC, the Viking’s much-needed third striker Hyltir Hyldegaard, returning from National Service, fit quite right in, even though it was his first time playing with Hagtvedt + Tobias Rönbeck combination. The wily Hyldegaard provided the feints that opened holes in the USL Novale defence that enabled Hagtvedt to score.

Not much changes in the top and bottom three: defending champions Stade de Saintes FC is still eleven points behind AJ St-Tobie de Coire, while Coeur-Rouge de Torcy, Artois SC, and Stade Béthon 50 remain in the relegation zone.

Crushing wins all over for the top teams in Week 25. Defending champions Saintes-Saints-Brice FC at home destroyed Excelsior Perthus FC 3-0 that featured a surprise Joël Beauchamp long goal. It was now Hyltir Hyldegaard’s time to shine with AJ St-Tobie de Coire, completing a hat-trick at injury time. The Vicious Vikings mercilessly raided the disorganised Coeur-Rouge de Torcy defence, leaving the visiting Vikings a winner, 0-5.

Stade de Saintes FC equally scored an impressive 1-6 in their away game against Stade Béthon 50. After being down 1-0 thanks to an own goal by Axel Lehhan, the Saintais recovered and proceeded to pummel the Bethanian defence. After an embarrassing draw against FC Plaisance last week, the Stade de Saintes front started to get their act together. Folkbjörn Brondt erased Lehhan’s error and Druron Dangereaux scored another hat-trick. Finnbjörn Röyseland contributed two more goals, one from a penalty, further sinking the Bethanians.

Another hat-trick this week came from Tristan-Lambert Saint-Huile of AS Beaucaire, which destroyed Artois SC 4-1. Côme FC also won against SC Bâle at home, with a 3-0 score.

After a tied first half, Styrfinnur Bergenhammer won the game for Espérance SC Loudun against Provins Football Puy-d’Or, 2-1, propelling the Loudunais to just outside the top 10. Olympique Nyonnais’ goalless draw against FC Vantes de Domnonée pushed it down the rankings, falling out of the crowded top 5.

The top three remains AJ St-Tobie de Coire, Saintes-Saints Brice FC, and AS Beaucaire. Week 26 will be a game to watch as the top two teams play each other again: AJ St-Tobie de Coire hosts Saintes-Saints-Brice FC. With Matthias-Aymeric Bombardier out and with a new striker lineup, will the Vikings succeed against the Archers?

On the other end, Coeur-Rouge de Torcy, Stade Béthon 50, and Artois SC round up the bottom three.

Arguably the highlight of Week 26, current leader AJ St-Tobie de Coire faced defending champions Saintes-Saints-Brice FC at home. In an intense game, the Vikings wobbled, having a radically different lineup than the last time they prevailed over the Archers. Despite the Archers having superior possession in the first half, the Viking defenders held the line and only allowed one goal, a Kévin-Ardouin Cremillieux header. The visitors’ 0-1 lead persisted until halftime.

Afre Coire revamped its midfield, the home team equalised when Tobias Rönbeck converted a Brendan-Clément Gallaudet crosser into a goal in the first five minutes of the second half. Gallaudet, Félix-Albéric Cottereau, and the two Prydanian midfielders battled it out with the Archers for possession, but they could not prevent Matthias-Vertigier Bracquemond d’Élbée from making a pass to Matthieu-Donatien Kerbriant, who headed the ball into the net on the 58^th minute.

The Coiriens switched into the wild unpredictable and unorthodox tactics, led by the quintet of the “Vicious Vikings”: Hugberg Steenstrup, Thorbjörn Kjellander, Tobias Rönbeck, Hyltir Hyldegaard, and Tjörvi Hagtvedt. The forward Hyldegaard passed the ball back to the midfield, where Steenstrup surprised the Archer defenders by lobbing it into the net as a long goal equaliser. The home team then proceeded to pile up the lead when Hagtvedt, taking advantage of Kjellander and Hyldegaard distracting the defenders, snuck the ball above Archer goaltender Paul-Childéric Boudinot. Saintes-Saints-Brice FC coach Kévin Caillard frustratedly replaced Boudinot, but that did not prevent a turbo-charged Hyltir Hyldegaard from lodging another goal on the 84^th minute. In the end, AJ St-Tobie de Coire proved themselves worthy of occupying the top spot in the leaderboards by defeating the defending champions 4-2.

The fortune of the other Saintes team went well as Stade de Saintes FC destroyed SC Bâle 1-5. The Stade de Saintes FC front has gelled, with Druron Dangereaux helping out the two Björns to score goals.

AS Beaucaire seemed to be snatching a 2-2 draw on a visit to FC Vantes de Domnonée, after an unlucky game with two injuries. However, the visitors’ hopes for eking out a point was dashed when Caël Hascoët curled the ball into the net on the 79^th minute.

Odinspylique de Ratisbonne destroyed a blundering Coeur-Rouge de Torcy on home ground, 2-0, with Benjamin-Timothée Röthlisberger providing the two goals.

Both USL Novale and AS Aurigny pressed their home advantage to prevail over Provins Football Puy-d’Or and Stade Béthon 50, with scores of 2-1. In contrast, Espérance SC Loudun nearly lost on penalties against Artois SC until a last-minute Styrfinnur Bergenhammer goal on injury time enabled the home team to salvage a draw.

Meanwhile, the matches between Stade Beaunais FC and Excelsior Perthus FC, Tiffauges FC and FC Plaisance, and Olympique Nyonnais and Côme FC ended in goalless draws.

Stade de Saintes FC’s win enables it to leapfrog over Côme FC to fourth place. Of course AJ St-Tobie de Coire widened its lead over Saintes-Saints-Brice FC with fourteen points. The bottom third of the leaderboard remained unchanged, with Coeur-Rouge de Torcy, Stade Béthon 50, and Artois SC remaining in the relegation zone.