U19s, a final in more ways than one

After their thrilling quarter-final win over Angers, our Titis did it again by beating Marseille in the semi-final, coming back from a goal down to win once more. This Sunday in Aurillac, they face holders FC Nantes, who beat Montpellier Hérault SC and then RC Lens.

The Titis' journey

After qualifying for the play-offs in their last match following an emphatic 8-0 home win over Saran, the Parisians secured their place in the play-offs by finishing second in the U19 National Championship table. They had their work cut out with a trip to SCO d'Angers, who had finished top of their group. Trailing 2-0 early on, Papus Camara's side rallied and showed tremendous collective strength to win 3-2 thanks to goals from Mayulu, Lemina and Housni.

In the semi-final, the Titis took on Olympique de Marseille in a Classique that lived up to all expectations. The game got off to a flying start and it was Marseille who took the lead, 1-0 at the break. However, the determination of the Parisians was on show again, and they began the second half on a much brighter note. The chances started coming and Ilyes Housni equalised with a wonderful right-footed curler after some good work from Noah Lemina. It looked as though we were heading for a penalty shoot-out, but in added time Housni, again, was set up perfectly by Ismaël Gharbi and found himself one-on-one with the Marseille keeper. He coolly dribbled past the keeper and finished into the empty net.

When asked about this ability to turn games around, goalkeeper Louis Mouquet spoke about the team's spirit: "It's a mental strength that we've developed over the last few months with the group, as we battled to earn our place in the play-offs. Today, there's a real sense of togetherness that means we don't panic even when we're behind. That's enabled us to get results."

FC Nantes' journey

Having finished second in their group behind Angers, FC Nantes also faced a table topper in the quarter-finals when they travelled to Montpellier. Nantes, the defending champions, showed their resilience too. Trailing 2-0 early on, the Canaries pulled level in stoppage time with a 98th-minute equaliser. The game went to penalties, and the Jaune et Vert came out on top, winning 4-2.

In the semi-final, FC Nantes faced RC Lens. This time, Maxime Baty's men, who had recently taken over from Pierre Aristouy, who is now first-team coach, got off to a better start and quickly took a 2-0 lead. Thinking they had done the hard part, they saw their opponents pull back to 2-2. But just as the game was about to go to penalties, Nantes scored the winning goal in the dying moments to seal a 3-2 victory and a place in the final.

Noah Lemina, the Red and Blue forward, knows his opponents well, having played them in last year's U17 championship semi-final at the Camp des Loges, where they won 3-2: "They're a very good team. We're expecting a big game, after last year's encounter. We know a little about the type of players they'll have on the pitch", before adding: "Everything can change in a year, so we're not going to underestimate them. They won the competition last year at U19 level, so they deserve their place. We want to show that we deserve to be at this stage and that we can win the play-offs too.

Housni / Mafoumbi: a match within a match

It is a duel that is likely to dominate this final. On one side, Parisian Ilyes Housni. Scorer of 22 goals in 19 matches in the Championnat National U19, our young Titi is top of the goalscoring charts. On the other side, Nantes' Exauce Mafoumbi also has an impressive tally, with 19 goals in 21 matches.

A 5TH PLAYOFF FINAL IN 12 SEASONS

With their victory over Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain qualified for the play-off final for the 5th time in 12 seasons. They are also the most successful club with 3 titles in 2010, 2011 and 2016 since the national championships were revamped in 2009, and a 4th on Sunday? Louis Mouquet would love to add his name to the list of winners and is hoping to count on the support of the fans: "We were surprised to see so much support against Marseille and we'd be delighted to have them with us in this final. We hope to add to the Paris Saint-Germain trophy cabinet and celebrate with them."

Join us on Sunday 4 June at 4pm at the Stade d'Aurillac to support our Titis against FC Nantes and help Papus Camara and his players add their name to the Parisian history books.