Coverage:

On 24th February 2024, AS Saint-Etienne faced off against Annecy FC in the Ligue 2 competition, with Saint-Etienne emerging victorious with a 2 -1 win. Interestingly, despite the scoreline favoring the home team, the match didn't seem to be entirely controlled by them, particularly in regards to the high volume of corner kicks and lower offsides called against the visitors.

To start, Saint-Etienne announced its presence early with two crucial goals in the first half of the match. Scored at 9:33 minutes and 40:53 minutes, these goals put the home team in robust control before the halftime break. Despite the added pressure, Annecy FC managed to pull back one goal during the game's latter stages at 86:22 minutes, unfortunately for them, it was a too late drive to change the match's outcome.

In the stats department, however, the game painted a slightly different picture. For instance, Saint-Etienne put the Annecy defense under consistent pressure which was evident in seven offsides as opposed to Annecy's solitary offside. This statistic, along with the early goals, suggests a more aggressive offensive stance from Saint-Etienne, aiming to explot gaps in Annecy's backline.

On the contrary, Annecy FC showed a dominant performance when it came to set-pieces, recording a total of seven corner kicks compared to only one from the home side. This suggests that despite being behind on the scoreboard, Annecy managed to consistently threaten the Saint-Etienne goal. This data highlights Annecy's capability to put the opponents under pressure and says a lot about their possessive gameplay and offensive attempts.

On a disciplinary note, the home team's aggression seemed to cost them a bit of discipline, leading to two yellow cards, all incurred in the second half of the match. Meanwhile, the visitors managed to maintain a clean sheet in terms of discipline, receiving no bookings throughout the game.

To conclude, the game was a classic case of efficiency over statistics. Despite Annecy's superior performance in corners and discipline, Saint-Etienne's strategic aggressive play paid off in the form of early goals, demonstrating the importance of taking early chances and maintaining the lead in football. Again, this further emphasizes the notion that having more possession or creating more attempts does not guarantee a win unless paired with goal conversion, a facet mastered by Saint-Etienne on the day.

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