Brest came close to promotion back to the top flight, but found the minefield of the playoffs simply too tricky to negotiate. In the knockout competition, they came up against a Le Havre side who were simply too strong for them, going down 2-0.
Jean-Marc Furlan’s side have had a season of regret, which is perhaps best summed up by the late equaliser that they conceded against Chateauroux only three days prior to that clash against HAC that cost them home-field advantage against opponents formidable at Stade de la Oceane all season.
Their campaign might have boiled down to one individual match, but that was largely because of the inconsistency that they showed throughout, which exacerbated tensions between the coach and the board, which may well lead to him being jettisoned before pre-season training begins.
On the opening night, the tone was set. They raced into a 2-0 lead over Chateauroux but folded late in the game and lost 3-2. It would not be until the closing weeks of the campaign that they became anything like consistent at home, relying on their away form to keep them in touch with the teams towards the summit of the standings.
It took them a long time to get their offence going properly, with Habib Diallo not providing the volume of goals that were hoped of him. Meanwhile, Gaetan Charbonnier, who started the season with a serious injury and was eased in gently, could have been utilised more significantly as he was crucial both in terms of set up play and scoring.
That area of their side was up to speed by the end of the season, but their tally of 43 goals conceded was rather high in comparison to the sides around them in the table, though ultimately their tally of 11 draws was perhaps the differentiating factor between success and failure.
Brest will try again next season and will start from a better base.
