The victory against the reserve team from Toulouse on Saturday officially secured Tarbes’ place in National 3. With seven more rounds to play, the season is far from over, and Tarbes can have high ambitions.
“It’s the best team we’ve seen this season,” after the Tarbes’ victory in Arcachon, the Girondins were full of praise for Marc Fachan’s team. Promoted from Regional 1 this summer, TPF continues to impress this season on their return to the national leagues.
A smashing return that led Tarbes to achieve their goal of staying in the league with seven rounds remaining in the season. “It was really unexpected,” Lilian Roume said after the victory against TFC’s reserve team on Saturday night (1-0). A success that topped off a perfect week for the Bigourdans with nine points in three matches. This was the total that the Tarbes coach wanted in six games. “We need nine points to achieve our initial goal for the season, which is maintenance. I don’t know if it will be three victories or different, but the objective is clear: to take 9 points in the 6 matches ahead,” Marc Fachan said before facing Cestas.
National 2, a real possibility?
In a solid second place, Tarbes approach the end of the championship without a real target in mind, although as competitors, they do not want to stop there. “When we see the quality of this team, our solidarity, and the motivation we show in every game, we can only dream of aiming higher,” Lilian Roume stated.
The excitement was tempered by the Tarbes coach. “The good thing is that there is quality in our squad. I can’t remember ever being really worried by a team in the championship. So, we will have fun playing these matches to win because our goal has been achieved. So, now we are outsiders.”
Furthermore, with a favorable schedule in the final stretch of the season, the Tarbes team holds their destiny in their hands with four home games in the last seven rounds. The highlight will be the match against Canet-en-Roussillon on April 11, which could be the promotion deciding match into National 2. Especially when Damien Fachan and his teammates only have “manageable” away games.
Newly promoted from Regional 1, a second promotion in two years is not out of the question for TPF. In fact, it is now feasible.
The confirmed three lost points
Tarbes waited until the victory against Toulouse to talk about securing maintenance because they had three points at stake. These points were deducted by the Federation from the Tarbes club on February 12 due to a lack of commitment from the youth teams. Despite an appeal to defend their case, Tarbes was notified on Tuesday night of the decision made during the appeal and the confirmation of the loss of three points. This was a penalty imposed on the ten clubs sanctioned in mid-February, including Blagnac, in the same group as Tarbes. In the standings, the consequences are minimal for Tarbes. They remain in second place but with a 4-point gap, with one less game played, behind Canet in first. On the other hand, Blagnac drops from 8th to 10th place.
/2026/03/25/000-a4ku2zr-69c3d26951275050831037.jpg "Des \"1001 Nuits\" à l'art contemporain : le Louvre-Lens explore les orientalismes")
