A rare Hervé Lybohy goal was enough to give Nîmes Olympique all three points against RC Strasbourg Alsace at their Stade de la Meinau on Saturday.
RC Strasbourg Alsace 0-1 Nîmes Olympique 
THE MATCH
Nîmes haven’t had much luck in front of goal this season, but they nearly opened the scoring early on when Denis Bouanga’s mis-hit cross shaved Matz Sels’ post (7′). Their next chance was rather more deliberate. Theo Valls let fly and his shot was deflected by Stefan Mitrovic, but Sels reacted brilliantly to keep the ball out (11′). When Nîmes weren’t testing Sels, his own team were, with Pablo Martinez’s blushes spared when his overhit back-pass was deflected around the post for a corner by the Belgian ‘keeper (26′). Nuno da Costa’s thumping shot from range then ended up safely in the gloves of Paul Bernardoni (35′) before Sels’ opposite number kept out Jonas Martin from close range (41′) and the sides went in for half-time with the deadlock intact.
The visitors had a good chance inside the hour when Sada Thioub went on a mazy run, skinning Dimitri Liénard, but he was finally stopped in his tracks by Ismaël Aaneba (57′). Jordan Ferri – signed on loan from Olympique Lyonnais – then came on for his Nîmes debut (64′), and the upswing in their possession was readily apparent. They made it tell soon after, with Lybohy finding himself unmarked at the back post to nod home Téji Savanier’s corner (71′), scoring his first Nîmes, and indeed Ligue 1 Conforama, goal in the process. Strasbourg’s frustration spilled over late on when Mitrovic was given his marching orders for dissent (79′) and it ended 1-0.
THE PLAYER: Matz Sels
This was an outstanding performance from Sels. The 26-year-old has fierce competition from Thibault Courtois, Simon Mignolet and others at international level, but Roberto Martinez has a safe third pair of hands in Sels. Despierately unlucky to find himself on the losing side here, a first senior cap would be nothing if not deserved.
THE STAT: 6
Nîmes had failed to win ten of their previous 11 matches in Ligue 1 Conforama. They have now won two of their last three, picking up six points in the process, to lift themselves up to 11th in the table, seven points clear of the automatic relegation places.
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