Claira-St

Leading its Régional 3 group, the Claira-St-Laurent-de-la-Salanque union needs to gather one point in three matches to move up to the higher division.

With a spirit of revenge and determination, coach Sébastien Atlan approached this season. Last year, his Claira-Saint-Laurent team had come close to promotion before losing out in the final sprint, allowing Trèbes to take the opportunity. “We didn’t hide last season, the promotion was clearly displayed,” warns the coach.
With the help of Yacine Taïder and Sylvain Leroy, his assistants, the former Canet player (N2, N3) has rekindled the flame of a seasoned group, composed of many players experienced in national competitions, such as Jérémy Posteraro, Mike Gambie, Florian Pfertzel, Sébastien Kanon, and Pierre Mahieu. With the best attack in the championship (54 goals, including 24 by center-forward Kanon) and the best defense (22 goals), Claira-Saint-Laurent quickly set the pace, taking the lead and never looking back. A dominant performance, almost imperious.
With three games to go, the Salanque club, led by president Nicolas Vidal, has an eight-point lead before hosting Clément-Montferrier’s reserve team on Friday, May 8 at 6:00 pm. “We must stay focused until the end. But don’t think it was easy. The group was tough with Jacou, Mauguio, or Mèze,” recalls the technician, trained at Paris SG, who has been leading the team for four seasons and has the highest average age in the championship like Slimane Aad (38 years). He gladly smiles: “When I fill out the team sheet, half of them are veterans (+35 years old) but they all did their job.”
Already crowned with a Coupe du Roussillon, the club resulting from the merger of the two entities, Claira and St-Laurent-de-la-Salanque, two years ago (500 members), could potentially further enhance its record in a month with promotion and an additional title. But before thinking about that, they must overcome the hurdle of Thuir in the semi-final of the Coupe du Roussillon, this Sunday at 3:00 pm.