FC Rouen Defeated by Laval in Playoff

FC Rouen, playing with a man down for much of the match, was punished by a more clinical Laval side. The Red Devils fought hard but were unable to score in this Ligue 2 playoff match.

Rouen got off to a strong start, pressing hard and quickly finding themselves in Laval’s penalty area. On a corner kick by Cartillier, Seydi headed the ball over the bar (3’). Playing well, Rouen were then reduced to 10 men. Rocha received a straight red card (12’)… Ten minutes later, Sellouki opened the scoring for Laval (1-0, 26′). The rest of the first half was evenly matched, with Laval controlling possession but creating few chances. Maraval did, however, block Houdayer’s shot (41’).

Rouen came out strong in the second half. But their finishing lacked precision. Crosses couldn’t be met (48’, 55’, 58’), and shots—especially from distance—went wide (51’, 60’, 64’). Laval threatened on the counterattack or from set pieces. Maraval deflected Camara’s shot onto the post (68’) and made a save on another attempt by Laval’s number 9 (80’). Samassa, meanwhile, stepped in front of Egny after a layoff by Fuss on a cross from Titebah (84’), then stretched to stop a volley by Bezzekhami (88’). All alone in the box, Maggiotti shot over the bar (96′). On a final free kick played toward the box, Samassa caught the ball again inside his six-yard box (97′). FCR failed to beat the Laval goalkeeper and lost by a single goal in this second-leg playoff.

Match Report
Sunday, May 24, 2026
Stade Lavallois – FC Rouen 1899: 1-0 (1-0)
Referee: Mr. Petit.

Goal scorer for Laval: Sellouki (26′).
Yellow cards for Rouen: Benzia (36′), Seydi (37′), Mendy (66′); for Laval: Thomas (36′), Benard (78′).
Red card for Rouen: Rocha (12′).

Laval: Mamadou Samassa – Peter Ouaneh, Sidi Bane, William Bianda – Owen Kouassi (Vargas, 69′), Enzo Montet (Benard, 68′), Titouan Thomas (Mbayo, 59′), Sam Sanna (cap.) – Malik Sellouki (Maggiotti, 83′), Mamadou Camara, Mathys Houdayer (Clavreul, 83′).

Substitutes: Maxime Hautbois, Yohan Tavares, Thibaut Vargas, William Benard, Julien Maggiotti, Dylan Mbayo, Ethan Clavreul.

Coach: Olivier Frapolli.

FC Rouen 1899: Axel Maraval – Dany Goprou, Sofyane Bouzamoucha (Bezzekhami, 81′), Formose Mendy, Clément Bassin (c) – Mustapha Benzia (Egny, 73′), Antonin Cartillier, Kenny Rocha – Alan Kérouédan (Titebah, 70′), Idrissa Seydi (Faye, 70′), Amadou Ba-Sy (Fuss, 70′).

Substitutes: Axel Temperton, Nassim Titebah, Omar Bezzekhami, El Hadji Guiry Egny, Enzo Genton, Sérigne Faye, Valentin Fuss.

Coach: Régis Brouard.