Paris defeats Angers to reach the semi-finals

Zoumana Camara's players faced Angers SCO this afternoon in a decisive match with qualification for the semi-finals of the U19 National Championship playoffs at stake. After finishing second in Group A, the Red and Blue went to challenge one of the favourites of the competition, as the Scoïstes finished on top of Group C. The Angevins had the advantage of playing on their home ground for this match.

With the absences of Serif Nhaga, Ismaël Gharbi, Yoram Zague and Joane Kouakou Gadou, it was a depleted Parisian squad that travelled to the Maine-et-Loire. But the club from the capital were strong enough to defeat a quality opponent. However, the start of the match quickly turned to the advantage of the hosts with Sidiki Cherif opening the scoring from the very first chance SCO got (1-0, 3'). Faced with the pressure and the technical precision of their opponents, the Parisians found themselves in difficulty in the early minutes. Hugo Lamy's team-mates even conceded a second goal following a penalty converted by Jean-Mattéo Bahoya (2-0, 20').

Trailing by two goals to the best defence in the U19 National Championship, with only 22 goals conceded in 26 games, Paris had a mountain to climb to get back into the game. As the first half drew to a close, Ilyes Housni broke through the Angers defence from the left and played a ball back to Senny Mayulu, who finished with a powerful left-footed shot that went in off the underside of the bar (2-1, 44'). At half-time, Paris Saint-Germain were still down by one goal, but they regained hope thanks to an encouraging end to the half.

The Red and Blue started the second half strong, again looking dangerous, this time through Naoufel El Hannach, whose left-footed effort was saved by the keeper. Moments later, it was Mayulu's turn to trouble the Angers rearguard with a low shot that skimmed past Oumar Pona's left post.

Zoumana Camara's men kept going and won a penalty for a handball in the penalty area following another attack. Noah Lemina stepped up to the plate to equalise for the capital club (2-2, 61'). The Parisians were rewarded for their excellent start to the second half by being back on level terms. But Paris did not intend to stop there, as Mayulu was again very lively and served Housni on the left side of the box. The Parisian forward gave his side the lead with a powerful left-footed shot from a tight angle (2-3, 75').

Nehemiah Fernandez-Veliz and his team controlled the last 15 minutes of the game to maintain their lead and contain the final attacks of the Angevin club. At the end of a thrilling game, Paris Saint-Germain won with guts on the pitch of Angers SCO and qualified for the semi-finals of the U19 National Championship playoffs.

THE NEXT MEETING

The U19 team will return to the playoffs of the National U19 Championship in the semi-finals of the competition next weekend. The Parisians will face Olympique de Marseille, who beat AJ Auxerre this afternoon, for a place in the final. The match will be played on Sunday 28 May in Orléans (4pm).