Parisians salvage last-gasp draw

After a busy international break, the Parisians were back in action in the D1 Arkema this weekend. Unbeaten in the league since 1 October, Les Rouge et Bleu went into the match with one objective in mind: to extend their run of five consecutive wins.

For the occasion, Jocelyn Prêcheur once again fielded the 3-5-2 formation that proved so effective against Montpellier. The attacking duo of Martens-Chawinga was backed up by a solid midfield comprising Karchaoui, Albert, Bachmann, Geyoro and Vangsgaard. In defence, the Le Guilly-Hunt-De Almeida trio protected the Parisian goal.

The match got off to a flying start, and it was clear from the off that it would be a hotly contested affair. Le Havre were getting more and more physical, looking to destabilise Les Rouge et Bleu, but a second foul on Grace Geyoro gave Les Rouge et Bleu the first chance of the game, but their free-kick was cleared definitively by the Le Havre defence (3'). Paris then went on the offensive, with Captain Geyoro breaking through the Le Havre defence to feed Tabitha Chawinga, but goalkeeper Laëtitia Philippe came out well to protect her goal (15').

Although the Parisians were not being troubled, fate intervened and an unfortunate loose ball fell to Le Havre, who opened the scoring through Ines Ben Yahia, who went clean through (1-0, 19'). Far from being discouraged, however, Paris Saint-Germain continued to attack, as Bachmann's breakthrough just before the half-hour mark showed - even though it was saved by the in-form Le Havre goalkeeper (29').

Although the Parisians were firing on all cylinders, they struggled to find a way through the unyielding Normandy defence. And despite good efforts from Hunt (31', 45') and Chawinga (43'), the capital club were behind at the break.

In the second half, the Parisians showed their determination to turn the tide. Jade Le Guilly (49'), Grace Geyoro (54') and Lieke Martens (59') all pushed forward in front of goal in the first quarter of an hour, but they were unable to find the net. Paris were in trouble and could have been KO'd when the home side had their second big chance of the game (69'). But Paris held on and Chawinga carved out the first clear-cut chance of the second half with a powerful shot (74').

Paris Saint-Germain stepped up a gear in the final quarter of an hour. Sakina Karchaoui crossed beautifully for Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who had come on a few minutes earlier (84'). The Parisian captain then had the best chance thus far in the second half, firing just over (85').

And then came the reward for all that self-sacrifice! From a magnificent free-kick by Lieke Martens, Geyoro headed the ball into the back of the net (1-1, 90'+5) to snatch a draw in the dying seconds.

At the end of a tense face-off, Paris snatched a 1-1 draw. Les Rouge et Bleu now turn their attention to a crunch week ahead, with AS Roma at the Parc des Princes on Thursday and the derby against Paris FC on Sunday.