This is the first guest article published on Red Star Rising. Out in Left and Ligue Huh?’s Brendan Dentino was at Stade Bauer for Saturday’s game against Reims and offers his view from Saint-Ouen.
The calendar says August, but summer is over. The supporting facts are these: Football is back at Stade Bauer, and in a chilly, temperamental rain on Saturday Red Star FC hosted Reims in a Ligue 2 clash. It was a spirited affair, though one that Red Star let slip through its fingers. The home side lost 4-1.
It was my first time at Stade Bauer, whose footprint is smaller than the parking lots of American football teams. Much of the Bauer’s grounds resemble a construction zone. That is what they are. A long-running and at times controversial redevelopment project continues apace, with a business school on top of the Tribune Nord looking almost ready for tenants. To the west, across from the main stand, exists a berm on top of which sits temporary parking, construction material, and the makeshift broadcast platforms. Cameramen at either end of the pitch stood their watch on patches of dirt cleared of weeds. One ball kicked out of play disappeared between the new buildings and existing homes.
Stade Bauer is a relic of another time, an ancient patch of grass with a city growing wildly around it, which makes it more interesting than any American football stadium I’ve seen. Bauer is a perfect place to watch football, then, in large part because it pumps life into and absorbs the energy of the people living around it. An hour and a half before kickoff, Red Star supporters were spilling out of l’Olympic, and kids in Red Star gear chased far ahead of their parents on the streets. The byzantine flea markets south of the stadium buzzed.
With time to kill before kickoff, I dozed off in nearby Square Les Z’arts until a coach bus turned onto rue Charles Garnier. Its occupants banged on the windows while they waited for permission to deboard. They eventually commandeered the driver’s seat and used the horn to keep the beat for their chants. At last, Reims’ traveling supporters were allowed to stream off their bus towards a stadium gate, where they were chaperoned by dozens of police officers and frisked by stadium security. In Bauer during the match as in the streets before it, they made their presence known.
I asked a man in the park, a man named Muhammad, if this happens every gameday, and he said he was only visiting Paris for a week. He wished me a good match before I could ask him how a tourist finds their way to a small park in Saint Ouen. Bauer is like a crossroads, in that regard.
Reims opened up the game competently, controlling the ball and pressing their opponents effectively, then Red Star burped up a penalty in the fifth minute. In their first attack, forward Kevin Cabral positioned himself in the box to get pushed from behind, a gift from Reims. As someone who watches the Premier League obsessively, I was astonished by how quickly the penalty was awarded and taken without VAR intervention. Reims keeper Tom Hulsmann was not surprised. He made a great save to his right to keep the game level.
Red Star made up for it in the ninth minute, when fullback Théo Magnin chased down possession in Reims’ half and made a determined dash into the box. A fine cross to his left led to a goal by Red Star’s number 10 Saîf-Eddine Khaoui, who ignited and celebrated in front of Red Star’s supporter groups.
The party was not a long one. Red Star’s defense was seemingly unaware of the existence of Reims’ Samuel Kotto, for he went unmarked and buried a 13th minute corner into the net. Twenty minutes later, Reims forward Youssef El Kachati headed in a ball that Red Star keeper Gaëtan Poussin got his mitts on but failed to clear.
Poussin’s hands failed him again in the 53th minute, when, off a save, the ball bounced into the middle of the box. It was an easy putback for Reims’ El Kachati. Reims later added another goal from the spot.
With the loss, Red Star sank to 8th in the Ligue 2 table, and it’s not particularly difficult to parse out. They’ve scored three goals in four matches. They simply lack attacking quality, which puts pressure on the defence and magnifies mistakes.
“We stuck to what we wanted to put in place, particularly in the first half, when we played some attractive football. What was missing was the finishing touch,” Red Star coach Damien Perrinelle admitted as much, speaking to the BeIN Sport cameras after the game. “Even in the second half, when we started a little less well, we still had opportunities. In a match, there are key moments, and that’s where we fell short.”
Red Star were not destined for this loss. It would have been a different game had they converted the early penalty. It would have been a different game had Poussin batted shots away harmlessly. Red Star also rattled a ball off Reims’ crossbar in the second half.
“Overall, to be honest with you, I’m happy with the image we showed today,” added Perrinelle. We caused this very good Reims side problems. The scoreline is heavy, but we could have scored more goals ourselves. The supporters applauded; I think they liked what they saw. But we’re not living in Care Bear land either — we’re also here to win matches.”
Red Star didn’t deserve to concede four unanswered goals, but their downfall was of their own doing. Reims made one mistake, and Red Star let them get away with it. In the chase for Ligue 1 promotion, it is those small margins that make a big difference. Les Audoniens are now winless in three games since their opening victory over Nantes earlier this month.
Up next: at Laval / Friday, 4th September.