Match Report
On paper the standings were lopsided — Saint-Étienne 8th with 53 points, Niort 20th with 29, 24 apart. Per game in the league, Saint-Étienne were scoring 1.66 and conceding 1.5, Niort 0.92 and 1.76, against a competition average of 1.2 goals per team per game.
The referee was F. Benchabane, with 87 matches in our database and 1.5 yellows per game on average. Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne staged the fixture, a ground that holds 42,000. On the scoreboard, it was 0-0 at the break; 2 second-half goals set the final 2-0.