Depths Forgotten I

Quevilly-Rouen Métropole is incomparable to Le Havre AC in terms of historical achievements, domestic success, or cultural importance from a footballing perspective. The "Les rouges et jaunes", a description often associated with Quevilly-Rouen, is competing in CFA Group A, which is two divisions below Ligue 2 in the French Footballing Pyramid.

Thus, it is not without reason to assume the youth team of Quevilly-Rouen would be weak compared to a side like Le Havre which spends millions on its youth development program every single year. But, there's a catch to all this. Despite every team in the youth league treating Quevilly-Rouen as easy points on the table, they are surprisingly firm in their fixtures, with the team stubbornly placing themselves right in the middle of the table.

After 16 matches in a 26-match season, Quevilly-Rouen is currently 6th in the youth league table. This is a side that has given Kai and Lanier quite the headache during the pre-match preparation, as their opponent isn't a possession-based side, but a team that favours a relatively direct fashion, getting the ball from one end of the pitch to the other while playing no more passes than necessary.

Playing against such a team would be simple to beat in theory, to just keep the ball and don't leave gaps for opposition counter-attacks. But the issue is that they are also a side that is comfortable playing accurate progressive passes to break lines quickly and efficiently against mid to low-blocks.

Statistics don't lie. Quevilly-Rouen averages the lowest possession in the youth league with 43%, yet their progressive passes per 90 minutes rank them as one of the best teams in the youth league. And that is not to mention the scary fact that all their matches this season could be described as "classic" by the spectators due to the unnatural amount of goals.

Le Havre U-19 is away at their opposition's home grounds as Quevilly-Rouen welcomed them for this match. Terrain Mahmoud Tiarci is a far cry from the modern and stylistic Stade Charles Argentin Stadium, as Quevilly-Rouen's pitch is nothing more than a plain grass field in a random park. The pitch is so poor that Kai was certain their club's groundsman must cheated his job as some parts of the pitch has grass that is way too tall, and some areas way too short.

There were no fancy stands for the spectators to view the match. There wasn't even a dugout to speak of as the visiting team had to bring picnic chairs just so they can have the luxury of sitting.

As the team huddled around the small circle formed around Marley, delivering his last words of encouragement before the match, Kai and Lanier stepped aside from the manager's encouraging words as the opponents, or more specifically the opposition players.

If Kai had to describe their opponents, he would dare suggest that Le Havre has better players compared to Quevilly-Rouen in every position. Yet their manager had somehow gotten them to play in a way that makes the team greater than the sum of its parts.

"FOR VICTORY!"

"FOR VICTORY!"

"FOR VICTORY!"

"..."

The Le Havre U-19 players shouted before marching on the pitch under the order of manager Marley. The two sides prepared themselves on either side of the field as they awaited the referee to announce the kickoff. Soon, at exactly noon, the referee blew his whistle and Le Havre had the pleasure of starting with the ball.

Kai and Lanier threaded this game very seriously, and they were going to assume they are superior just because they are higher in the league table. e In fact, the duo were more weary than usual as according to Kai, the Quevilly-Rouen team is "unpredictable", "intense", and "unforgiving" if they ever lose their focus for one tiny moment. Not to mention that the Le Havre U-19 side has lost some pinnacle figures such as Chevalier and Roys, both important figures that were crucial to their team's offensive creativity.

Not only does Chevalier dominate the assist charts, but he also has the most goals so far this season. Not having him for this match is a big loss. Their captain Roys is also their tempo setter, dictating the Le Havre side at the back like a commander. Arbelaez is probably the best wing-back they have, and not having him on the team also limited their team's offensive power.

This news rewarded the team with a downcast Kai. But under the encouragement of Lanier, they both wracked their brain to form a cohesive strategy for this match as Mr Nobilo destroyed their entire left flank.

The personnel on the field and their positions are as followed

.

====================

Goalkeeper: Luc Faira

Centre Back: Kai Chiu

Centre Back: Dominique Simon

Centre Back: Gaston Allard

Right Wing Back: Mtupeni Eze

Left Wing Back: Léopold Roussel

Midfielder: Crescenzo Rivera

Midfielder: Léonard Masson

Midfielder: Papillion Séverin

Foreward: Bernard Pape

Foreward: Benoit Leroy

====================

.

The 5-3-2 formation Le Havre has implemented is necessary to get the best players in their best position, whilst at the same time dealing with how their opponents would play the game.

The game started and in the opening minutes of the match, the coaching staff spent much of their time observing the other team to confirm and reassure them of what they already know about their opponents: that Quevilly-Rouen Métropole is playing their favourite 4-4-2 formation. But 4-4-2 isn't an accurate description of how their opponents play the game.

The enemy is a wild one. A team that thrives in the chaos created during direct play. Though their formation looks like a 4-4-2, when they have possession of the ball, they quickly begin their direct style, throwing men forwards so their 4-4-2 formation becomes a 4-2-4 in a blink of an eye. That's the danger, their direct play is dangerous, as they can suddenly have 4 attacking players going against 4 defenders.

This is why Marley and Lanier lined the team up in a 5-3-2 instead. So their defenders can always have a +1 advantage when Quevilly-Rouen attacks. 5 vs 4 at the back to (hopefully) stop their opponents from ripping them apart.

In the opening minutes, Le Havre played a patient game, slower than their usual tempo as they have been informed by their coaches that Quevilly-Rouen won't mad-mans and press them for the ball like wild animals, instead, their opponent sat back patiently as they were content to let the visiting team enjoy the ball.

Though this state is only achieved because Quevilly-Rouen allowed Le Havre have the ball. They don't want to waste their energy, not yet. They are having a slower start to test the current, familiarising themselves with how Le Havre attacked and how they can best punish them.

The likes of Morrel, Souza and Lamboley aren't that famous, but they don't need to be to cause havoc. With these 3 players, Le Havre must have a plan for sure to stop those speed demons from ruining their game plan.

The two teams tested the waters with their half-hearted attacks, though none of their efforts rewarded both sides in anything tangible as the score remained 0–0 despite 10 minutes already passed on the match clock. Manager Marley walked down the sidelines, making sure the players have him in sight as a source of confidence as he shouted at them from time to time... even if the players are in total focus on the match.

"Time sure flies when you watch these passionate players going straight at it on the pitch. Isn't that right Horace?" Commentator Sébastien turned the subject in a more casual direction as he sparked dialogue with his partner.

The old man nodded. "Yes... nothing has happened quite yet but I can see Le Havre's patience would pay off if they keep this attacking intent."

"Yeh... but I must say, playing a 5 at the back formation surely is quite the statement from the Le Havre youth side."

"Yeah, I didn't see this happening, not even in my wildest of dreams. But that's why I also think a win for Le Havre is much more likely today. You can never go wrong with a 5-3-2 formation if each player works their best to cover each other."

Commentator Sébastien was right. It's because of this idealistic mindset that both sides didn't dare play an attacking game that made the game mostly a stalemate. While Kai and Lanier know Quevilly-Rouen is a wild team, they are prepared for it.

In the 15th minute of the first half, following a sudden Quevilly-Rouen counterattack that is stopped by Gaston Allard by intercepting the long ball to forward Morrel, the defender passed the ball wide to Eze as he calmly diverted the danger that was threatening their goal.

Eze controlled the ball with his chest before directing the ball forward. He was playing as the wing-back. But this time further forward with much more room and freedom to run up the pitch to attack. The Cameroonian dribbled up the right wing in a measured manner as he tried his best to keep his head up to scan the pitch continuously. Eze is still adapting to his new role as a full/wing back as he is pushed back to a more defensive role on the wing, but the player is learning his new position. This positional change is aided by game time, but his mastery is not quite perfected.

Sébastian: "Eze, carry the ball with his energetic running…"

Le Havre saw the moment for an attacking play with a quick switch to the wing-back on the right-hand side. The Cameroonian player dribbled with pace down the wing, but his attacking intent is met with an immediate response by the opposition. The Quevilly-Rouen defender quickly closed him down, corning Eze to the perimeter of the field, and using the sideline to limit his threat.

But Eze wasn't about to give up that easily. The team have lost a core of players that are crucial to their game, it is at these moments that others must step up their game and make an impact.