Braga the recidivist

Is the Stade du Trémeur set to become a Portuguese colony? That’s a fair question to ask after SC Braga’s second consecutive success in the U17 tournament, in front of another capacity crowd (around 4,000) on this Whitsun Monday. Their opponents in a closely-fought final were the astonishing Brazilian club Ceara, who lost only on penalties (4-5) after a 1-1 draw.

Lorient stumble in the semi-finals
Braga had paved their way to the final with a hard-fought 0-0 win (6-5 on penalties) over a fine, enterprising Caen side that many expected to reach the semi-finals or even the final. But yesterday Braga once again had the flexibility of… steel.
In the final, Braga were solid defensively and tactically astute, but they also had the attacking touch, creating two superb chances just before half-time. But it was Ceara, as technically gifted as they were physically, who found the opening after the break through Felipe Da Silva. Braga then equalised. But the scoreline did not change after that.
As for FC Lorient, who were once again in the last four after two good rounds of matches, they had to put up with Ceara in the semi-final (1-2). They went on to claim third place in the tournament against Caennais (2-1).

U15 : Guingamp get it right
In the U15, the presence of Plouzané AC in the quarter-finals was a refreshing change of pace. But the adventure ended there for the dashing Plouzané side, who were eliminated by Guingamp, the eventual winners of the tournament. At the same stage of the competition, Stade Brestois were beaten on penalties by Red Star. The same fate befell US Concarnoise in the semi-finals at the hands of Guingamp.
En Avant had the same idea, winning the final by the same scoreline (0-0, 5 penalties to 4) against Laval. The use of penalties could have given the impression of an unspectacular tournament, but on the contrary it was the sign of a great closeness in the play of these teams, who met in the quarter-finals