Concarneau and Stade Briochin took to the field for the thirty-first round of the Championnat National – the third tier of French football. For Concarneau, the three points were crucial to keep their dream of a place in Ligue 2 alive.
Georges Gope-Fenepej has been playing an important role in Concarneau’s journey in the competition.
US Concarneau had been increasing its draw streak to seven matches and consequently was winless for eight games. The 1-1 draw against arch-rival Stade Briochin was taking the team away from its chances of playing in Ligue 2 for the first time in history.
Until in the 55th minute, coach Stéphane Le Mignan called on Georges Gope-Fenepej to make his twenty-first appearance in the Championnat National 21/22. Only 10 minutes were needed for the New Caledonian football legend to score and put US Concarneau ahead of the scoreboard. After a misplaced clearance by the opponent, Faissal Mannai found Gope-Fenepej who came face to face with the goalkeeper, the New Caledonian struck with his left foot from the left side of the goalkeeper and scored his first goal in the competition. In the end US Concarneau even increased the advantage over their rivals of Stade Briochin.
With the win US Concarneau is only one point behind FC Villefranche for the playoff spot and five points behind FC d’Annecy for the direct spot in Ligue 2 – with only three rounds left to go in the Championnat National.
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