Khiter to the rescue

Lens came away with three points for the third straight match and finds itself in good form lately. Tonight’s clash at Ligue 2 champions Metz was undoubtedly an exciting encounter. Regardless of Jean-Pierre Papin continually featuring an inferior lineup by burying the likes of Kanga Akale and Razak Boukari deep on the bench the Lensois were saved by another very talented and rarely used striker, Seid Khiter.

Indeed, for the second week running Lens left it for late to snatch victory with the talented Khiter arriving with three minutes remaining to deliver the blood and gold their third consecutive victory.

Olivier Monterrubio had put Lens ahead just before the hour mark after rebounding and slotting home a cross, but Wilmer Aguirre equalised shortly afterwards before Khiter arrived to allow Lens breathing space above the bottom three.

Buoyed by last week’s sensational late win over St Etienne, Lens started off well and Monterrubio almost had them ahead early when his shot beat Metz keeper Christophe Marichez but was cleared away by Stephane Leoni.

Metz slowly found their rhythm and a period of good build-up saw Miralem Pjanic sent through but his shot was saved by Vedran Runje.

The second half

Once again Lens came out strong for the second half and they were in front with 56 minutes gone when Eric Cubilier deflected Luigi Pieroni’s effort onto the post and Monterrubio was on hand to finish. Although he seemed to hesitate a bit the former Rennes skipper was able to slot it past an advancing Papa Malek Diop.

However, the lead didn’t last long and 13 minutes later Pjanic guided Aguirre and his precise shot beat Runje after a minor scramble in the box.

Metz looked to be heading for a crucial point, but in similar fashion to last week Lens snatched a victory with only minutes remaining.

Yohan Demont’s pass found a streaking Khiter in space on the right side of the area and he kept his cool to finish brilliantly past Marichez from a difficult angle.

Certainly, the match was very tight and great fun to watch. I must say Metz deserved better and actually had a few bad calls go against them. I was particularly impressed by Cheikh Gueye who came on as a substitute and made an impact immediately. He no doubt would look great in the blood and gold. Maybe Papin and club president Gervais Martel saw that tonight.

Once again, Papin’s selection was atrocious. There was nothing he could do about Aruna Dindane’s injury which caused him to forfit the match, however, where was Kanga Akale? What exactly did Lens sign him for? What about Razak Boukari? Is Lens planning to develop his great talents? What about Kader Mangane? Indeed, he did come on as a substitute very late but why does Papin insist on playing Jonathan Lacourt ahead of these players? It was shocking to me how Papin once again trotted out the ineffective Luigi Pieroni as the lone striker to replace Dindane. It was no great surprise he did nothing and it was not until Khiter was inserted that a score was produced. Playing Pieroni ahead of Khiter is absolutely inexcusable, for me.

Ultimately, this was a good win but some questions still remain and I still believe much will remain unresolved until after the winter transfer period.

Category: Team News

Tags: Team News

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