“Babacar Leye converts from a corner assisted by Jessy Benet to give Pau a shock lead barely 90 seconds into the match.”
Pivotal“Ibrahima Baldé restores parity for Rodez, finishing from Raphaël Lipinski's assist after sustained home pressure including two corners.”
Pivotal“Babacar Leye strikes again for Pau, completing his brace with a right-footed finish assisted by Anthony Briancon after Rodez had failed to clear their lines on several occasions.”
Pivotal“Substitute Octave Joly, on the pitch for just eleven minutes, converts Mathis Magnin's assist to equalise for Rodez and deny Pau what would have been a significant away win.”
Pivotal
Rodez
Pau
Outstanding performance
Pau•AttackerPau arrived at Rodez and seized control almost immediately, with Babacar Leye heading home from a corner inside two minutes to stun the hosts. Rodez responded well, Ibrahima Baldé levelling through a Raphaël Lipinski assist at 28', but Leye struck again nine minutes later to restore Pau's advantage and send them into the break in front. The second half was a more subdued affair — Rodez's 58% possession and 81 dangerous attacks tell the story of a home side pushing without cutting through — but substitute Octave Joly provided the decisive moment, converting Mathis Magnin's assist in the 83rd minute to salvage a point. Loni Laurent's double yellow and subsequent dismissal in the 71st minute further unsettled the match's rhythm, yet ultimately neither side could find a winner, leaving both clubs to reflect on what might have been in a tightly contested Ligue 2 encounter.
How entertaining was this match?
Corner awarded.
Mathis MagninYellow CardMathis Magnin receives a yellow card.
Nachon Nsingi takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Jordan Correia takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Nachon Nsingi is substituted off for Loni Quenabio.
Octave JolyOctave Joly scores with a left-footed shot.
assist: Mathis Magnin
Goal! Octave Joly scores to make it 2-2, assisted by Mathis Magnin.
Right-footed shot missed.
Right-footed shot missed.
Tom Pouilly takes a right-footed shot but misses.
On Octave Joly replaces Damjan Pavlovic.
Yellow card issued to Loni Quenabio.
Gaetan Paquiez comes on for Anthony Briancon.
Abdoulaye Mbaye comes on for Hacene Benali.
Kenny Nagera comes on for Mathis Touho.
Steven Luyambulabiwa is on, and Corentin Issanchou Roubiou is off.
On comes Jean Lambert Evans, off goes Ryan Ponti.
Luan Gadegbeku is on, and Lorenzo Rajot is off.
Substitution: Alexis Lefebvre comes on for Babacar Leye.
Souleymane Basse is substituted off for Abdel Hakim Abdallah.
Corner awarded.
Corentin Issanchou Roubiou's header is saved.
Jordan Correia takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Corner awarded.
Tom Pouilly takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Damjan Pavlovic takes a shot with his right foot, but it's saved.
Corner awarded.
First half ends with the score at 1-2.
Hacène BenaliYellow CardHacene Benali receives a yellow card.
Damjan Pavlovic takes a shot with his right foot, but it's saved.
Ibrahima Balde attempts a header but misses the shot.
Cheikh Fall takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Cheikh Fall takes a right-footed shot, but it hits the post.
Babacar LeyeShot by Babacar Leye with another body part results in a goal.
assist: Anthony Briançon
Goal! Babacar Leye scores, making it 1-2, assisted by Anthony Briancon.
Babacar Leye takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Axel Dodote takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Corentin Issanchou Roubiou takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Ibrahima BaldéShot by Ibrahima Balde with his right foot results in a goal.
assist: Raphaël Lipinski
Goal! Ibrahima Balde scores to make it 1-1, assisted by Raphael Lipinski.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Jessy Benet takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Axel Dodote attempts a header but misses the shot.
Corner awarded.
Babacar Leye takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Cheikh Fall takes a header shot but misses.
Raphaël Lipinski Yellow CardYellow card issued to Raphael Lipinski.
Babacar LeyeShot by Babacar Leye, and he scores with a header.
assist: Jessy Benet
Goal! Babacar Leye scores to make it 0-1, assisted by Jessy Benet.
Corner awarded.
Kick-off! The referee is Faouzi Benchabane.
Rodez welcome Pau to Stade Paul Lignon riding a wave of attacking momentum after Ibrahima Baldé's hat-trick fired them to a stunning 5-2 win at Nantes. Sitting third in Ligue 2 and chasing the promotion places, the hosts are firm favourites against a Pau side that must tighten up defensively if they are to cause an upset on Friday night.
