The Minnows rise from the Mines

All too often modern football is lacking in drama and passion as players go through the motions while playing seemingly 100 games a year. Domestic cup competitions are often part of the problem, but they can also be pretty damn exciting. Even if you don’t follow football in France you can probably appreciate it when a minnow rises up to swallow a big shark. The minnows of the day are from Montceau-les-Mines, a group of hardy amateurs playing in the equivalent of France’s fourth division, who have reached the semifinals of the French Cup after defeating Lens 1-0 Wednesday.

Lens happens to be in second place in French Ligue 1 and could be headed towards the Champions League next year. They are the second huge scalp that Montceau-les-Mines have taken in the competition. The team from Burgandy knocked off first division side Bordeaux in the round of 16.

“We’re very proud of the players,” said Montceau coach Yannick Chandioux.

“When you play a first division side who are also competing in Europe and are in form you have some anxious moments.

“But we played even better than against Bordeaux. We had a lot more openings and the only thing that annoyed me was that we could have let it slip through out fingers by missing those chances.”

The miracle minnows join Marseille and Nantes in the French Cup semifinals. Holders Paris St Germain play at Sochaux on Wednesday to determine the fourth semifinalist.

You can follow the action from France on our France Offside blog where Sam does a great job of breaking down the domestic action and on the France World Cup Blog where Laurie is all over the international news of Les Bleus.

	Soccer Forums	Team/International Results

Category: French Ligue 1, World Football

Tags: Bordeaux, French Cup, French Ligue 1, Lens, Minnows, Montceau-les-mines, World Football, World Soccer

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