Troyes bounced back into Ligue 1 in extraordinary circumstances as they came through two legs of a playoff against Lorient to propel themselves into the top flight. The start of the campaign was grim for the men from Stade de l’Aube as they lost three successive matches in all competitions and, even by the middle of September, they had picked up only a couple of victories and were languishing in 15th in the standings. At that juncture, serious questions were already being asked of the suitability of Jean-Louis Garcia to lead the club. It was around that time, however, that he stumbled upon a solution. Overlooked for the first month of the campaign, it was Adama Niane’s 29-minute cameo in Nimes that was the change the shape of Troyes’ season. He scored twice to salvage a 2-2 draw in that match and he barely stopped scoring for the remainder of the season. Niane, who had arrived relatively unheralded, scored 23 goals in just 27 starts to shoot Troyes into promotion contention thanks to a spectacular run in the autumn. Signing Jonathan Tinhan from Amiens should have bolstered their forward options further in 2017, but he remained mute and ESTAC remained overly reliant on Niane. This meant that they often played with a feast or famine during the spring and, when Niane was struck by injury with just weeks of the season remaining, there were real fears that Troyes’ campaign was primed to peter away. But instead Garcia’s men showed their character, with 40-year-old playmaker Benjamin Nivet rising to the fore as he played several outstanding matches in succession and scored a handful of vital goals to keep Troyes in the playoff hunt. It was entirely fitting that he got the winning goal in the first leg of the playoff, and then ESTAC’s defence came to the fore in the second match. It was a unit that had functioned solidly throughout the campaign, despite battling with several long-term absentees that caused a dramatic shift in personnel over the course of the previous summer. And so, 12 months after going down after an embarrassing season, Troyes are back in the top flight. Improvements in their side are required, but they will surely not be as poor as they were in 2015-16.
