French Ligue1: Gideon Mensah and Elisha Owusu secure promotion with Auxerre

Ghanaian duo Gideon Mensah and Elisha Owusu have secured promotion to the French Ligue 1 with their club, Auxerre, after picking a decisive 2-0 home win over Paris Fc on Saturday.

After waiting for 10 years to gain promotion back to the French top flight in the 2021/22 season, Auxerre were immediately relegated after losing on the final day of the season to RC Lens.

Since then, the sole ambition of the club has been to move back and rub shoulders with France’s elite teams.

Manager Christophe Pelissier has earned his spurs at the Stadé l’Abbé-Deschamps, with inspiring leadership to steer the team back to Ligue 1 with two games spare.

A fundamental part of his team has been Gideon Mensah and the evergreen Elisha Owusu, who have contributed their quota to the team’s promotion story.

Mensah has been phenomenal on both sides of the pitch, amassing a 2.5 tackles per game and a 1.2 interceptions per game. As well as a 1.6 clearance per game, which places him top three in Auxere’s ranks. Coupled with a great attacking display, the 25-year-old has nailed a starting spot in the team.

Meanwhile, Elisha Owusu’s 29 starts this term has seen him help stabilize the team’s midfield, with his ability to put in tackles, recover balls, and move the ball upfield to great effect.

The adeptness of the Black Stars men have helped Auxerre back into the top flight, while Andre Ayew’s Le Havré face the prospect of being one of the sides to make way.

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Story by: Andrews Sefa Bamfo| univers.ug.edu.gh