Ghana’s John Boye on Saturday missed the opportunity to win his first major trophy in French football when Stade Rennais FC lost 1-0 to Saint Etienne in the French League Cup Final in Paris. It was an exciting game, fairly dominated by Saint Etienne who are having a great season as well in Ligue 1.
John Boye twice came close to finding the equalizer for Rennes in the second half. For his first chance, he steered a header just wide following a hopeful long ball into the box. Determined to bring his team back into the game, he again showed his aerial ability with another header from a corner kick. Boye’s overall performance in the game earned him an above average rating as he quickly recovered from a nervy opening twenty minutes during which time his team conceded from an 18th minute goal from the Brazilian, Brandao.
A win for Boye’s Stade Rennais would have made it two years in a row that a Ghanaian had won the trophy. Last year Andre and Jordan Ayew were part of the victorious Marseille team who beat Lyon in the final.
With six games to go till the end of the season, Rennes lie 10th on the table, 12 points from the Europa league places. However they seem to have once again secured their Ligue 1 status.
Boye is incidentally Stade Rennais’ fifth top scorer this season with two goals from over 20 league appearances. In a related development, his compatriot and former Black Stars captain, John Mensah is still awaits his debut for Rennes in the league and predictably did not play in the final on Saturday.
By Kwame Anane, FRANCE (20/04/13)
