Olympique Rouen make return to T11 Cup last 16, Win 1st leg in style

It had been nearly 3 years since Manager David Grizzle's squad had made it this far in football's marque competition. Having won the Cup in their first 2 seasons of existence and then seeing their hopes of a historic 3 peat dashed in the qualifying round, season 4 saw them escape the qualifying round only to fall in the playoffs. This season the clubs hierarchy made it very clear that at a minimum the club must continue to advance further this season.

This is no easy feat at any level but with each season Rouen faces steeper competition. Winning cups 1 and 2 tiers above their lvl was one thing. having to go 4 tiers above is quite another. Once again this season they faced a cup draw with teams ranging from 1 to 3 lvls above their own. Out of 128 teams in this competition Olympique Rouen stood out as the one and only club representing level 5. From the start it seemed a steep climb to even advance once given that Rouen had been drawn against a lvl 8 club in the prelims.

But one by one the club from Upper Normandy knocked out their elder opponents. The lvl 8 club from Djibouti managed to score exactly once in that round while conceding 9 to Rouen. On to the qualifiers. This time it was a tough Turkish club from lvl 7. The first leg seemed to spell doom as Les Coqs Gaulois were held at home 1-1. But that match would prove the exception. The ensuing trip to Turkey quickly turned into a 4-0 route and once again Rouen was in the playoff round.

The playoff round began much the way the previous one ended. With a 3-0 road win which set them up for a possible return to the last 16. When the club returned home there was a fierce determination in them that was visible from the opening kick. Rouen led 2-0 by halftime and the will of their lvl 8 German foe was zapped. The 2nd half saw the 5-0 agg score doubled with Mikkel Sorensen's hat trick highlighting the route. The 10-0 agg victory was by far the largest of the round, serving notice that the lowest lvl team in the whole of the Cup was not going to slink away.

Facing another trip to Germany, this time to Berlin and yet another lvl 8 opponent, Olympique Rouen could have been satisfied. After all they were told that they had effectively reached their seasons goal and the club would be proud of such an achievement regardless of the result. Surviving longer than 112 teams who were all from higher tiers is a massive accomplishment in and of itself.

More than 30 minutes into the match the opener had yet to come. But hope lay in the fact that their opponent had been pinned in their own half, having not a single shot on target, while the threats were all in their favor. The Germans attempted to sit behind the ball and force Rouen to break them down while playing counter attacking football. It was during one such counter that the first big mistake happened. German ST Patrick Matuszek turned the ball over and Rouen's super star Mikkel Sorensen made them pay with a mazy run leading to a one on one chance which Sorensen rarely lets out of his grasp, drawing out the keeper before easily rounding him and burying the opener with ease.

The all important road goal turned the German's strategy on it's head. At home and in trouble plan B was in motion and Rouen had the space they needed. It was less than 4 minutes later when LW Sebastian Rocha placed a sensational strike into the far corner to double the lead. Rocha was one of 3 players subbed off just passed the hour mark as the players were showing fatigue on the back of a game a mere two days prior. The pace picked back up with the new blood but it was the old guard who took the glory as within a minute the lead had again been doubled. First it was Sorensen setting up Wilson Sanchez for the 3rd goal, 43 seconds later Sorensen completed his brace after getting on the end of a well placed through ball from RW Omar Cardenas.

The match finished 4-0 for the visitors and leaves Olympique Rouen in fantastic shape heading home for the 2nd leg. Not only do they own a 4 goal advantage but when you consider that Rouen has conceded a grand total of 6 times in 22 matches, with the 6 goals spread over 6 separate matches it would take a massive shock to keep them out of the 1/4 finals. While Rouen are far from favored to win the cup this victory, again the largest of the round so far, will further serve notice that they cannot be overlooked.

Next up it's a pivotal trip to the 2nd place team in league play with Rouen hanging on to a slender 2 point advantage. This match could go a long way in deciding the final table for what was expected to be a highly competitive league but is turning into more of a 3 team race at the top with the 4th place side already 6 points adrift after 10 rounds. 10 teams in the league finished last season in Champions league position, with only 2 having failed to promote to lvl 6 and returning for another season in lvl 5. This obviously means that 6 of the 10 Champions League teams will fail to return to the competition next season and 3 will not even promote at the end.

The 15th sees only one match, a basically meaningless group stage tie with Rouen having already won group E and their opponent already eliminated from competition. It may be a time to see some of the reserves get a trot out to see if they can impress their manager and vie for more playing time or at least secure their future at the club.

The next meaningful action comes the following week as Rouen faces 3 matches. The 2nd leg of the T11 Cup at home sandwiched between two league matches against teams outside of the promotion zone.


Current stats for all competitions:

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