Last Saturday, the flagship team, now the new leader of their group, faced the reserve team from Pau in front of a packed stadium known as the twelfth man. Before kick-off, the club honored Pierre Barthié, “the voice of the club” for the past 11 seasons. With fate back in their hands, the Columérins were just two wins away from promotion to N2. A fair reward after the challenges they’ve faced. Two minutes into the game, Gabin Legrand scored. The stadium erupted. But then it was 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4. The Palois continued to dominate. Colomiers, defeated, fell back to the third position. This Saturday, for the last match of the season, they visit Onet-le-Château, ranked 4th. Even with a victory, they can’t reach the podium. But the Aveyronnais are always tough to beat, especially at home. They will want to end the season in front of their fans with a win. Faced with this situation, on Tuesday, before heading to the “Mondial de Capitany” draw, an inter-company tournament, President Florian Aït-Ali addressed the players. As long as everything is not decided, even the smallest hope remains. They can’t go all out in this final match in case one of the teams ahead of them loses. It’s about relying on fate and preserving the slightest chance to avoid regret. That was the message of his speech.
As they say, misfortunes never come alone. Another team will also have to rely on fate, the U19 National team. While playing at home against La Rove, their direct rival for avoiding relegation, they also lost 1-3. They will have to wait for decisions from higher authorities. Could the fact that their group only has 13 teams instead of 14 limit the relegation to just one team?
