Affected by the defeat in Donetsk, the OM captain is focusing on the L1. The match against Grenoble could be just the remedy for their disappointment. However, he remains wary of a team fighting for their survival.
The defeat in Donetsk, at the hands of Shakhtar (0-2) broke the run of invincibility that OM had carefully built up since the 19th of February and a loss at the Vélodrome to the Dutch side Twente (0-1) in the last 32 of the UEFA cup. The Marseille captain, Lorik Cana, still speaks with bitterness on the day after the match: « Personnally, I still haven’t gotten over it ». The Albanian international almost certainly replayed the match in his mind several times on the long trip back from the Ukraine: « We have a lot of regrets, regrets because we conceded a goal while we were pretty much in control of the match » he sighs. « The start of the match was difficult, without us being on the back foot though. It’s a shame that we didn’t score first, despite our chances. At 1-0 to us, things would have been complicated for them ».
This week-end, the Ligue 1 is back in action and the slap in the face that they received in the Ukraine cannot be allowed to affect the morale of the OM squad: «As competitors, we have a match coming up on Sunday, which remains our principal objective. We don’t have time to let doubt get to us » confirms Lorik Cana, well aware of the task that faces OM against a side that have lost their last two matches in the L1, but who will not be walkovers: « They are a side that started the season in great form, but who have had a little trouble afterwards. They are still not safe from relegation. They aren’t going to go into this match saying "Marseille, there’s no chance of any points ". They will come looking for a point or even a big upset ».
In fantastic form away from Marseille in the L1, Erik Gerets’s men have sometimes had more trouble at the Vélodrome, frequently against sides in the lower half of the table. In the last three home games (Le Mans, Valenciennes & Nantes), only the « Canaries » finished up losing. « Teams often modify their style of play when they come here. We had a lot of trouble against Nantes in the first half, right up until we scored from the free-kick and were then able to make the difference » states Lorik Cana. The former PSG player remembers the game away at the Stade des Alpes, on the 8th of November last year: « We were lucky to win 3-0. We deserved to win, but not by such a margin. The result came from little details, it went our way when it could quite easily have gone their way » he concludes.
