Auxerre mark return to Ligue 1 with dramatic last-gasp victory over Nice
Auxerre appeared determined to leave their mark on Ligue 1 from the first whistle here as they assumed control of the contest. Lassine Sinayoko cut in from the left for his side’s first sight at an opener, but the winger dragged his effort wide.
Ado Onaiwu was next to threaten, but he failed to make a clean connection with Sinayoko’s cut-back from a hugely promising position as opportunities went begging for the newly-promoted outfit.
And Christophe Pelissier’s men were subsequently taught a lesson in attacking ruthlessness by Nice, who after soaking up the pressure, delivered a cruel sucker punch to break the deadlock.
Gaetan Laborde stood a cross up to the back post where Mohamed-Ali Cho was waiting to deliver a towering header that went in off the underside of the bar.
Not dismayed, the hosts continued to dominate, but Onaiwu’s woes in front of goal showed no sign of slowing down as he was denied by Marcin Bulka before the break on two more occasions.
Auxerre simply weren’t to be denied though, and with half-time less than two minutes away they found a richly-deserved equaliser.
Rayan Raveloson was the man to get it, turning smartly after receiving Paul Joly’s cross with his back to goal before slotting into the bottom corner.
Franck Haise may well have been relieved to see his new side on level terms at the interval after they netted with their only shot on target, but there was little change to the pattern of play following the restart.
Jubal headed narrowly wide from a corner for Auxerre, while Raveloson’s free-kick whistled past the post as the hosts continued to press forward.
Nice eventually got to grips with the game as Auxerre tired, but found themselves with similar problems to last season in which they netted the fewest goals among sides to finish in Ligue 1’s top-12.
It looked as though time had run out for either outfit to find a winner, but in the fifth minute of stoppage time Lasso Coulibaly sent the home fans into raptures by scoring a last-gasp winner.
Latching onto a ball over the top from goalkeeper Donovan Leon, the substitute expertly lobbed the onrushing Bulka to seal victory for Auxerre on their top-flight return.