Brest endured a frustrating season, with a string of three successive matches in April costing them the opportunity to go up. Jean-Marc Furlan’s side spent virtually all of the opening 10 months of the campaign in the promotion places, rarely moving out of first or second, yet a run of defeats against Amiens, Troyes and Nimes were to be fatal. Even beating Bourg 2-1 on the penultimate weekend before thumping Gazelec 6-2 seven days later was insufficient to save themselves. They were a side that often flirted with disaster in the opening half of the campaign yet had a capacity to come through at the last, often due to the goals of Neal Maupay, who ended the campaign their top scorer. However, after being struck with injury in January, his form would never quite recover and Brest became notably more erratic in their results. What had been a useful advantage at the summit of the standings was ultimately whittled away, showing how fragile they were as a team. They had not, however, expected to challenge for the top three this term, which was expected to be a period of transition for them. There were certainly some positives, with Maupay among them, although he may well go back to Saint-Etienne in the summer after his loan deal is up, leaving Brest to search for another centre forward. Habib Diallo, who got seven in 16 on loan from Metz, may be a more realistic option. In the attacking midfield sector, Cristiano Battocchio was again their key man and will be difficult to hold onto, while Steeven Joseph-Monrose may demand more game time in the future, having netted seven times, often from the bench. This is an area where Brest had good options. In defence, meanwhile, there was also room for optimism. Zakaria Diallo had an outstanding campaign and formed a promising partnership with Luciano Castan, which gives a platform to build from for the future. Goalkeeper Joan Hartock was nominated for the Player of the Year prize in his position, yet he made costly errors at the end of the season, raising questions of his long-term suitability for the team. His two mistakes against Reims in a 3-2 defeat may well have been the difference between going up and not. Brest missed promotion only by a slim margin, and next term they should be better prepared for an assault on the top two.
