OM 2-2 METZ (5-4 pen.): QUALIFICATION THE HARD WAY

Reeled in twice after going ahead in extra time, following a scoreless 90 minutes, the Olympiens obtained qualification for the next round through a penalty shootout against Metz. They will now face Auxerre in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de la Ligue.

MARSEILLE 2-2 METZ (tab 5-4)

1-0 Niang (94’)
1-1 Mo. N'Diaye (96’)
2-1 Cissé (105’)
2-2 Balde (119’)

OM’s qualification against Metz for the quarter-finals of the Coupe de la Ligue was a long and winding story but in the end it was obtained and that’s the essential thing. The Olympiens had to fight it out all the way to a penalty shootout. But it’s not that they really suffered at the hands of FC Metz; the Olympiens struggled to hit their stride and made things difficult for themselves. And when they finally found the net through Niang in the 94th minute, Metz equalised through Mo. N’Diaye just 2 minutes later. The game opened up and Djibril Cissé handed the advantage back to OM, forcing home a diving header from an excellent Ziani cross.

The penalty shootout

Successful penalties fro OM: Niang, Valbuena, Ziani, Cheyrou and Cissé
Successful penalties for Metz: Agouazi, Pjanic, N’Diaye, Bong
Missed penalties for Metz: Bassong

Such a relief for the Olympiens but moreover for the striker whose joy at scoring said a lot about the difficult days he has been through recently. So was OM in the clear? No, because Metz’s Baldé quickly latched onto an incomplete clearance from the OM defence to reel OM in once again. Fighters, the Grenats stayed in the ring for the first 4 penalties, just as the Marseillais did, until Cissé blasted home OM’s 5th and Bassong missed for Metz…

It was a long road to qualification that began in a 4-4-2 formation with a diamond-shaped midfield (Cana - Ziani, Cheyrou - Nasri) and not as many changes as Eric Gerets had earlier in the week made out there would be – the skeleton of the team was the same. In the 15th minute Nasri’s rasping shot was half cleared by Marichez, falling to Niang, whose left-footed shot was blocked courageously by the Metz custodian. The Grenats' midfield (orange on the night, in fact) worked without success and the Olympiens attacked down the wings. Nasri’s 33rd-minute cross found Niang at the near post but his volley was easily cleared by Marichez.
At the end of the first half, Niang combined well with Cissé, who, off-balance, fired over the bar (43’). Cissé then returned the favour to Niang, heading down from Nasri’s cross, but once again Marichez intervened and fisted clear (44’).
Falling back deep to get the ball and keeping the OM engine room ticking over in the first half, Nasri began the second half with a fine shot that was unfortunately blocked by the Metz defence (46’). Partners in crime Cissé and Niang pulled off another one-two but yet again Marichez was on the spot to foil the Senegalese at the last second (59’). Experiencing some troubles with their passing, the Olympiens allowed the Messins in to the match, and shots came in from Mo. N’Diaye (68’) and C. Gueye at full sprint (78’). Zubar’s header (82’), Cissé’s volley (89’) and Cheyrou’s header (92’), which Marichez saved with his feet, were the manifestations of OM’s desire to finish the game off in regular time. But they were in vain, even though a flagrant hand-ball by a Metz defender in the area went unsanctioned by the referee.
Slightly incoherent until then, the game went into extra time. After Valbuena charged into space and got the ball to Cheyrou on the edge the area. He fired into the feet of the defence, but the ball fell to Niang, who finally beat Marichez from close range (94’). But the Olympiens weren’t safe yet. Zubar was surprised by the rebound from a Metz header, leaving room for Mo. N’Diaye to slot past Steve Mandanda (96’).
It was game on again, and the match within the match came to life. Ziani’s free kick was tipped over by Marichez (99’), then Metz’s François fired a dangerous header (103’) before Niang’s lob went narrowly over the bar and into the top netting (104’). Finally Cissé put OM ahead again wit ha full-stretch header (105’) before Baldé scored the game’s 4th in the dying seconds of extra time, forcing a penalty shootout in which Niang, Valbuena, Ziani, Cheyrou and finally Cissé did the job for OM.