The campaign ended in agony for Lens, as they came so close to winning promotion in the play-offs before falling short. They had won on penalties away to Paris FC and then triumphed in extra time at Troyes, despite playing most of that game with 10 men.
That set up a two-legged tie against Dijon for a place in Ligue 1 next season. Philippe Montanier's side took the lead in the first leg at home before being held to a 1-1 draw, but then conceded twice in the last 20 minutes in the return to lose 3-1 and be left staring at Ligue 2 football once again.
Lens will be in the second tier for the fifth year running next season, and for the ninth season out of 12. That is far too long for a club whose average attendance of more than 26,000 was higher than that of all bar five clubs in Ligue 1. However, after only coming fifth in the league, perhaps they did not really deserve to go up.
And yet things started so well. Montanier was brought in after a disastrous 2017-18 season, and after 11 matches this time Lens were second, with eight wins, two draws and just one defeat, away at leaders Metz.
Nevertheless, they won only one of their subsequent nine matches. Momentum had gone. In the form table from late October to the end of April, over a period of 24 matches, Lens were 14th. In the end they sneaked into the last play-off place by winning their last three league games, finishing above Lorient on goal difference.
They were strong at home, scoring five goals in wins over Gazelec Ajaccio and Orleans, and four against Niort. But they were not quite good enough away, and won only two of 10 matches against other members of the top six.
Jean-Louis Leca was an excellent signing in goal, although he missed the Dijon tie due to suspension, while Cheick Doucoure was an exciting discovery in midfield. Thierry Ambrose goes back to Manchester City after doing well on loan, but Yannick Gomis was the star, the Senegalese striker joining from Orleans and scoring 17 goals between the regular season and the play-offs.
