Gallia Club Omnisport de Bihorel 2 Sporting Club de Petit-Couronne 4
Ligue de Normandie Division D’Honneur Seniors Poule Unique
Dimanche 20 mai 2007

For dessert back to Rouen and its suburbs, this time staying north of the Seine for a mid table clash with little to play for, a pleasant way to draw down the curtain on a long weekend of culture, history and football. First point to make to those who wish to chalk of GCO Bihorel, their ground, Stade Marechal Leclerc lies in Rue de Verdun, however this road name seems as common locally as London Road this side of la Manche and at first the Old Combustibles plus one found themselves in a rather residential lane which seemed to lacked the all important football field. Happening upon a few locals, your humble scribes Franglais did the trick, discovering that the Rue de Verdun we had found was in fact in the neighbouring commune of Bois Guillaume. Soon the tour party was heading in the right direction, though missing out on the locals whose B team competing at same level were also at home that day at the strangely named Parc des Cosmonautes.
Just before the appointed hour of three o’clock the English advance party was rumbling into Stade Marechal Leclerc, another ground part of a sporting, hemmed in by a swimming pool and race track. Slightly faded, the Stadium had perhaps seen better days though not too many Anglos. The match itself had the strong whiff of end of season about it, played in a spirit of amity rarely seen in the English game. Though playing to the best of their efforts neither side seemed to be taking matters too seriously, amateur not only in name but in attitude too. The hosts went hammer and tongs at their opponents only to be caught out early on. Denied an equaliser by a magnificent reaction save from the SC ‘keeper, turning a sharp close-range effort at a corner on to his near post, GCO slipped further behind as they conceded a second not long before the break. They might also have conceded one during half time for having returned from the snack bar (coffee, cold drinks and chocolate bars only! Pas be bier!), the scoreboard read 3-0 to SC Petit-Couronne. Not that the assistant referee, a rather chic blonde, if over tanned, would have noticed for she was out of the dressing room having a crafty gasper during the interval!
A early strike for GCO reduced the deficit but just as thoughts of a third straight comeback from two goal arrears swept through my mind, SC struck once more with a stunning looping volley that left the ‘keeper flat-footed. A stunning diving header cut the gap to a single goal midway through the half, a classy if comedic effort for it had come from an SC defender. At least the mood of the match was captured by the gargantuan SC centre-half and skipper who shared a whimsical smile with fans gathered behind the goal, even the English! This second hoped for comeback too proved stillborn for a fourth goal by SC proved fatal for GCO, allowing SC to leapfrog them into 5th place in the final table.