Last Saturday, the first team, now the new leader of their group, hosted Pau’s reserve team in front of a packed stadium to play as the twelfth man. Before kick-off, the club honored Pierre Barthié, “the voice of the club” for the past 11 seasons. With their destiny in their own hands, the Columérins were just two wins away from promotion to N2. Two minutes into the game, Gabin Legrand scored. The stadium erupted. And then 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4. Pau’s goals kept coming. Colomiers, defeated, fell back to third place. For the last match of the season, on Saturday, they will travel to Onet-le-Château, ranked 4th. Even with a win, they cannot reach the podium. But the Aveyronnais are always tough to beat, especially at home. They will want to finish this season in front of their fans with a victory. Facing this situation, on Tuesday, before going to the “Mondial de Capitany” draw, an intercompany tournament, President Florian Aït-Ali addressed the players. As long as everything is not decided, even the smallest hope remains. They cannot fully commit to this final match in case one of the teams above them loses. They must trust fate and preserve any chance to avoid regrets. This was the essence of his speech.
Misfortunes never come alone, they say. Another team that must also trust fate is the U19 Nationals. While playing at home against La Rove, their direct rival for avoiding relegation, they also lost 1-3. They will have to await decisions from higher authorities. Could the fact that their group only has 13 teams instead of 14 limit the relegation to just one team?
