Stalled progress?

By: Jay | November 26th, 2007

Just as the Lens faithful thought the club had turned the proverbial corner disapointment returned to the Stade Felix Bollaert on Saturday. Not to say that the match was a total debachle, indeed the Lensois showed some resilience and fought back to capture a point after being down early.

Marama Vahirua slotted home the first chance in the 12th minute after some rather nifty footwork.

Christophe Jallet sent a long ball and the excellent Rafik Saifi flicked to Oscar Ewolo.

He then proceeded to lead Vahirua who hit a first-time shot under a rattled Vedran Runje.

Luigi Pieroni would level matters in the 18th minute after Jonathan Lacourt intercepted a loose pass from Vahirua and set up the Belgian international with a fine pass to beat Lorient keeper Fabien Audard.

The Bretons could have taken the lead for a second time after 33 minutes when Saifi led Vahirua away down the right flank from where the Tahitian struck powerfully just wide of Runje’s top corner.

The Lensois largely dominated the action throughout and had the first chance after the break, Aruna Dindane producing an impressive effort on 53 minutes which deflected off defender Jeremy Morel and forced Audard to parry.

Ten minutes from time Saifi broke clear on a counter attack but struck wide in a one-on-one with Runje.

Saifi nearly handed Lorient all three points a minute from time but he volleyed wide from the edge of the box after a slick one-two with a streaking Morel.

The disapointing result keeps Lens just two points above the relegation zone, while Lorient missed a chance to move into the top half of the table.

AS IT STANDS

A draw at home certainly leaves much to be desired especially since the club had been performing well of late and seemed to be ready to climb the table. However, it remains apparent that a lack of talent on the pitch combined with questionable coaching decisions continue to hamper the Artesian side.

A major concern continues to be the squad selection of coach Jean-Pierre Papin. It appears the former French great is determined to play Luigi Pieroni up front on a regular basis while the cream of the Lens talent wastes away. Razak Boukari, Kanga Akale and Seid Khiter continue to languish in oblivion. Added to the misery is the unexplicably pathetic selection of David Pollet the Belgian forward who shows little promise actually saw action at a crucial moment of the match.

On a positive note Papin finally seems to have understood the message from Kevin Monnet-Paquet as his complaints appear to have been temporarily addresed and the super talented striker was finally allowed to see the pitch. It was no surprise he was one of the top performers of the match. It still remains to be seen however, whether he will depart during the winter as his patience seems to be wearing thin with Papin and the Lens management.

Once again Sidi Keita and Kader Mangane were nowhere to be seen and many commentators continue to wonder what exactly Kanga Akale was brought here to do? Hopefully many of these questions will be addressed over the break.