Kamory Doumbia scores twice from the spot as ten-man Le Havre fall 1-2 to Brest
Doumbia converted penalties at 12' and 51', Mwanga was sent off for Le Havre just before half-time, and Rayan Fofana's late penalty back was not enough to stop Brest winning 1-2 at the Stade Océane.
Two penalties from Kamory Doumbia and a sending-off before the break did the damage. Le Havre spent most of the second half chasing the game with ten men, and a stoppage-time penalty of their own arrived far too late to matter.
Doumbia opened the scoring from the spot after 12 minutes, then added a second just after half-time at 51'. In between, Le Havre's Mwanga was sent off in first-half stoppage time, leaving the home side to play the last 45-plus minutes a man light. Rayan Fofana pulled one back from the penalty spot at 79', but Brest saw out the remaining minutes for the win.
A losing side that still had most of the ball
Le Havre finished with 56.2% of possession and more passes completed than Brest, but the numbers that decided the match went the other way: two converted penalties, a red card at the worst possible moment, and nine shots on target conceded to Brest's clinical edge in front of goal.
Match facts
- 12' — Kamory Doumbia (Brest), penalty
- 45+2' — J. Mwanga (Le Havre) sent off
- 51' — Kamory Doumbia (Brest)
- 79' — Rayan Fofana (Le Havre), penalty
| Stat | Le Havre | Brest |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 56.2% | 43.8% |
| Total shots | 18 | 19 |
| Shots on target | 4 | 9 |
| Passes completed | 376 | 287 |
| Pass accuracy | 82.6% | 77.6% |
| Fouls committed | 15 | 18 |
| Offsides | 1 | 0 |
| Corners | 5 | 5 |
| Red cards | 1 | 0 |
What's next
Le Havre stay 16th on 1 point from three matchdays, level with the drop zone above them only on goal difference. Brest move to 7th on 5 points, one of the better runs outside the traditional top group. Both sides are back in action for Matchday 4.
Doumbia's spot-kicks, in season context
Both Brest goals at the Stade Océane came from the same player and the same method: Kamory Doumbia scoring twice from the penalty spot. It was already his second involvement of the campaign — he had equalised from open play away at Le Mans on the opening weekend — and it took his tally to three goals from Brest's first three matches. Doumbia is a 23-year-old Malian midfielder, born in February 2003, who wears the number 23 shirt; per ESPN's player records, he carried that scoring form through the rest of the international break, reaching four Ligue 1 goals and an assist from five starts by matchday 5 — a productive return for a player operating from midfield rather than as an out-and-out forward, and directly responsible for both of Brest's points on this particular afternoon.
Le Havre's winless start
This defeat sat in the middle of a rough opening month at the Stade Océane. Le Havre lost the season opener 0-1 at home to Monaco, drew 1-1 away at Lyon, then fell to Brest before recording their first clean sheet of the campaign in a 0-0 draw with Angers and losing 2-3 at Toulouse on matchday 5. Five matches in, Le Havre had not won a single one — two draws and three losses left them on two points, the fewest of any club in Ligue 1.
| Opponent | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Monaco | Ligue 1 | L 0-1 |
| Lyon | Ligue 1 | D 1-1 |
| Brest | Ligue 1 | L 1-2 |
| Angers | Ligue 1 | D 0-0 |
| Toulouse | Ligue 1 | L 2-3 |
Brest's uneven return
The win at Le Havre sits in the middle of a mixed start for Brest too. They drew 2-2 away at Le Mans on the opening weekend despite firing 26 shots at goal, drew another 2-2 at home to Toulouse on matchday 2, then beat Le Havre for what remains their only win of the season. A narrow 0-1 home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on matchday 4 and a 1-2 loss away at Auxerre on matchday 5 followed, leaving Brest with one win, two draws and two losses from five games — enough for 11th place, but only a single point clear of the relegation play-off zone.
| Opponent | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Le Mans | Ligue 1 | D 2-2 |
| Toulouse | Ligue 1 | D 2-2 |
| Le Havre | Ligue 1 | W 2-1 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | Ligue 1 | L 0-1 |
| Auxerre | Ligue 1 | L 1-2 |
Where the table stands five matchdays in
The early script hardened rather than reversed. Le Havre are 18th and bottom of Ligue 1 on two points from five games — no wins, two draws, three losses, four goals scored and seven conceded — sitting inside the automatic relegation places that run from 17th to 18th. Brest have climbed to 11th on five points, with one win, two draws, two losses, seven scored and eight conceded, level on goal difference with Lorient just below them and only a point above Troyes in the relegation play-off spot at 16th. The 1-2 at the Stade Océane remains Brest's only win of the campaign, and Le Havre still have not found one.
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