Just a few days after a narrow defeat in the LFFP Cup final against OL Lyonnes in Abidjan, the capital of Côte d'Ivoire, Paris were back in action on Wednesday. The Rouge et Bleu were playing their second of four consecutive away fixtures scheduled for the coming weeks, but needed to shake off their fatigue quickly, and with good reason: the Parisians had the opportunity to continue their run in the Coupe de France if they were able to overcome Dijon at the Stade Gaston-Gérard.
For this second match in the space of five days, Paulo César decided to use his entire squad. Whilst Mary Earps retained her place in goal, Griedge Mbock was paired with Paulina Dudek in central defence this time. Isabela took up position on the left flank, while Elisa De Almeida was again selected on the opposite side. In midfield, Joe Echegini started alongside Jackie Groenen and Anaïs Ebayilin. Finally, the Brazilian manager opted for an unfamiliar attacking trio, with the young Léa Morissaint up front, flanked by Rasheedat Ajibade and Tara Elimbi Gilbert.
All the ingredients were in place for what promised to be a thrilling encounter between two ambitious sides dreaming of reaching the final, which will be played at the Stade du Hainaut in Valenciennes on Sunday 10th May. Going all out, the Dijon side almost caught our Parisian team off guard right from the start with two good chances. While the first went wide (5'), the second forced Mary Earps into a crucial save (11'). It was a tricky start for our Rouge et Bleu, who were to suffer two major setbacks within a few minutes of each other with the injury-enforced exits of Isabella and Jackie Groenen, replaced respectively by Florianne Jourde and Merveille Kanjinga (12', 24').
This didn't discourage our Parisian side, who gradually took control of the ball as the minutes ticked by, pushing their opponents back into their defensive third. This didn't stop Dijon from creating chances, however, but Mary Earps proved decisive once again by coming out on top in a one-on-one with Nadia Kreyzman to keep the score at 0-0 (43'). Though it wasn’t long before the score changed, as our Rouge et Bleu were finally rewarded for their efforts in stoppage time, opening the scoring with a splendid free-kick from Joe Echegini (0-1, 45’+4).
Far from being disheartened by conceding the opening goal, the Dijon players came back onto the pitch with renewed vigour. Stepping up the intensity, Pierre-Alain Picard’s side managed to find spaces in the Rouge et Bleu box and were awarded a penalty, which Léa Declercq converted (1-1, 54’). Under pressure, the Parisiennes were determined to respond to avoid the prospect of a penalty shoot-out. In turn, Rasheedat Ajibade and Merveille Kanjinga both came close to restoring their side’s lead, but without success (61’, 68’).
As the final quarter of an hour came, Paulo César decided to inject some fresh energy by bringing on Sakina Karchaoui and Yaya in place of Léa Morissaint and Anaïs Ebayilin (78'). It was a move that paid off, as the Rouge et Bleu immediately stepped up a gear whilst their opponents struggled to catch their breath. This lack of energy ultimately proved costly for Dijon, as Joe Echegini bagged a second goal in stoppage time to secure victory for her side (1-2, 87').
The score remained at that, and our Rouge et Bleu had secured their crucial victory in Burgundy, booking their place in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France, where they will face Paris FC at the Campus PSG for a place in the final.
The Paris Saint-Germain women’s team return to Arkéma Première Ligue action this Sunday with an away match against Montpellier, who sit bottom of the league, as part of matchday 18.
