Rodez suffered a frustrating 3-4 home defeat to Nancy on Friday night in Ligue 2. Having fought back to lead after falling behind early, the Aveyron side ultimately collapsed defensively in the second half.
Didier Santini set his team up in a 4-4-2 with Crombez in goal and a central pairing of Lipinski and Magnin. The visitors struck quickly, however, with Ilyes Housni beating Crombez in the 4th minute from a Pape Meissa Ba pass. Rodez responded through an Antonin Cartillier free-kick, deflected into his own net by Yannis Nahounou (7'). Raphael Lipinski then headed home from a Cartillier cross (20') to put his side ahead.
The second half was a defensive nightmare. Nancy equalised just two minutes after the restart through Pape Meissa Ba (47'), assisted by Nordine Kandil. The same provider set up Nehemiah Fernandez for a second goal four minutes later (51'). Jean Lambert Evan's briefly revived hope by pulling one back from a Mathis Touho pass (59'). But Pape Meissa Ba sealed the match with his second goal of the night in the 74th minute, exploiting more defensive uncertainty.
Santini tried to react with a triple substitution in the 80th minute, bringing on Ponti, Joly and Pavlović, but could not turn the tide. Rodez finished the match with three yellow cards (Laurent, Saka, Magnin) and less than 40% possession.
The loss leaves Rodez in 11th place in the Ligue 2 table with 7 points from six games. Their record now stands at two wins, one draw and three defeats. The defence, which has conceded four goals for the second match in a row following the 4-1 loss at Metz, is a major concern. The next challenge is a big one: a trip to face league leaders Saint-Étienne on October 10th.
