Sunderland loanee Pierre Ekwah has opened up on the “immense shame” that he and his St. Etienne teammates felt following their recent 8-0 defeat at the hands of OGC Nice.
The French midfielder left the Stadium of Light in a deadline day loan deal last month, and has since established himself as a regular fixture in his new club’s starting line-up. So far he has registered 270 minutes of action across three outings in Ligue 1, helping St. Etienne to four points from nine in the process, but his sole loss during that run was a humiliation courtesy of Nice a week and a-half ago.
Ekwah and his colleagues were 6-0 down by halftime—the first time a Ligue 1 side have conceded that many in the first half of a contest since the turn of the millennium—and the final scoreline was the Loire’s club’s heaviest top flight defeat since 1951. Indeed, many supporters left the stadium before the second half had even kicked off.
And the 22-year-old has now spoken out about the disappointment of being on the wrong end of such a brutal result. “When we left the field, we felt immense shame”, he told a press conference.
“After such a score, it is impossible to be satisfied. We need to get back to basics, starting with strengthening our defence. We analysed our mistakes on video and worked to correct them in training. The key word is work, while maintaining confidence in our abilities.”
Ekwah’s words closely echo those of St. Etienne boss Olivier Dall’Oglio. Speaking immediately after the final whistle, he told gathered reporters: “The feeling is one of shame. We are not proud at all in terms of what we produced. When you forget the basics against a good team, you’re punished.”
Dall’Oglio went on to say that he “understood” the exodus of away supporters at halftime and apologised for his side, before continuing: “I can’t explain [the performance]. They [the players] can’t either. We knew our season would be difficult.I am angry, although I won’t show it today. I will first seek explanations.”
