Strasbourg boss Thierry Laurey was hoping that the shock 2-0 win over LOSC will being a positive spiral for his side, while Nantes boss Vahid Halilhodzic has the final in his sights after the 3-0 elimination of Montpellier.
Coupe de la Ligue BKT, Round of 32
RC Strasbourg Alsace 2 – 0 LOSC
Thierry Laurey (RC Strasbourg coach): “It was a chance for the lads who haven’t been playing that much to show that we can count on them and they did well. We were pleasantly surprised, as they showed a lot of commitment, rigour and solidarity. You have to love evenings like this one because everything went well, and that’s great for building a positive dynamic. How things go now depends a fair bit on the draw; but however that goes, we’ll fight hard and take this competition seriously.”
Christophe Galtier (LOSC coach): “We’re disappointed to be out of the competition. Strasbourg deserved to qualify; I thought we would do much better. We took some time to get into the match, but that was because a number of the lads hadn’t been playing much. And then my choice in terms of the formation and how we played wasn’t really adapted to this match. The lads need to recuperate and get this out of their system now. Everyone’s frustrated and angry because we wanted to go a long way in this competition. I had a part to play in our defeat and I’m facing up to it.”
Montpellier Hérault SC 0 – 3 FC Nantes
Michel Der Zakarian (Montpellier Hérault SC coach): “This is a terrible evening for us; we were hoping to qualify but really blew it. Pedro Mendes’ sending off was just a part of it all. We didn’t play the match we wanted to – we were too wasteful and had just one chance on goal, just after they scored. We’ll have to analyse this defeat well and then get ready for the visit of Marseille [in Ligue 1 Conforama on Sunday evening].”
Vahid Halilhodzic (FC Nantes coach): “That was really something. Both sides were poor in the first half, especially technically, but we were much better in the second half. We deserved the win against a side who have been playing really well lately. But we can’t stop here. In the Coupe de la Ligue, you have to have ambition and drive and determination, otherwise you fall by the wayside. In just four matches, you can book a place in the final and that’s a real spectacle.”
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