A derby, a semi-final, everything was in place for an exciting clash. And that’s exactly what happened at the Campus this Saturday afternoon, during the first Coupe de France semi-final, ahead of the second one between Strasbourg and Lyon on Sunday.
A crazy match always begins with a bit of madness. And it was PFC who stunned everyone by opening the scoring. Mbock was dispossessed by Garbino, who drove along the six-yard box before pulling a powerful cut-back. Elisa De Almeida was unfortunate to turn it into her own net (0–1, 4').
And the madness continued when Anaïs Ebayilin equalised with a fine header, placing it beyond Chavas’s reach (1–1, 20'). The Parisians deservedly drew level and began to take greater control of the match in this clash between 3rd and 2nd place in the Première Ligue.
The second half then began with a dramatic twist: Mbock was sent off after a VAR review. A major decision at that point in the game, and a very harsh one judging by the images (49'). But it was our Parisians who regained the lead after a foul on Sakina Karchaoui in the opponent’s box, which was given as a penalty!
Romée Leuchter converted straight down the middle, putting Paulo César’s players ahead (2–1, 57'). The second half tightened up and time flew by. Our Parisians held firm, fending off attacks from their rivals. Graziani picked up a second yellow card, leaving her teammates down to nine players for a suffocating final stretch (90+1).
But it made no difference, with Earps standing strong in goal, commanding her box both in the air and on the ground, as the visitors side tried to unsettle Karchaoui’s teammates. To no avail! Paulo César’s players qualified for the Coupe de France final and will be in Valenciennes on 10 May!