Starting up front for Le Havre, striker Josh Maja thought he had equalised against Lorient, but his goal was ruled out by VAR. Beaten 2-0, HAC stay 18th in Ligue 1.
Le Havre dominated, but lost. On Sunday, the Normandy club were beaten 2-0 at home by Lorient, through goals from Isaak Touré (18th) and Jean-Victor Makengo (90+5), according to Paris-Normandie and OneFootball. The second goal came in stoppage time, after Le Havre had piled on the attacks.
Josh Maja, the Nigerian striker, thought he had equalised in the 60th minute. His goal was logically ruled out by VAR, report Paris-Normandie and OneFootball, though the sources do not specify the reason for the refereeing decision.
Sterile domination
Le Havre, though, made the running. With 21 attempts and 53.8% possession, the Havrais dominated the proceedings, according to OneFootball’s figures. Despite those attempts, the club did not score, and Maja could not equalise.
Lorient’s opening goal came from a handling error by Le Havre goalkeeper Arnaud Bodart on Isaak Touré’s shot, reports Paris-Normandie. Lorient took the lead as early as the 18th minute.
Maja, 4 goals in Ligue 1
Starting up front in Le Havre’s 3-4-2-1, alongside Mbwana Samatta and Rayan Fofana, Josh Maja has 4 goals in Ligue 1 this season, according to Ligue 1.com. He has 9 matches and 519 minutes played, a goal every 130 minutes, according to Le Matin.ma.
His ruled-out goal summed up an evening on which Le Havre dominated without turning their superiority in play into anything.
Jaïr Karam in interim charge
Jaïr Karam, the interim head coach, has been in charge since Didier Digard’s departure. For this match, he named a squad of 21 players, according to MadeInFoot.
With this defeat, Le Havre stay 18th in Ligue 1. Lorient, 10th in the table, won against a club sitting last in the competition’s top 18, which illustrates the gap in the standings. Le Havre’s next match is Troyes – Le Havre AC, on the next matchday. Lorient, for their part, will host Rennes in the same round.