Lyon had an unlikely winner this weekend as they beat Stade Rennais 1-0 on Sunday night. Ireland's Jake O'Brien from Cork scored a 66th-minute header at Les Gones at Roazhon Park in Rennes.
Fabio Grosso's side struggled to break down Rennes with ten men, and the second half was no better until Sael Kumbedi’s cross found O’Brien's head. The Cork native found the back of the net to score his first goal for the club. Lyon held on to record a gritty victory.
The win was Lyon's first win of the season and it means the one-time seven-a-row winners of the league, who are rooted to the bottom of France's Ligue 1 table, can now look to gain some momentum and avoid relegation.
"We are happy, but we know that the journey will still be long," said Grosso after the win. "The players started the match with the right mindset. We managed to win a difficult match. It was important to give everything and have no regrets.
"It was a good win, but the journey is still long, and there will still be difficulties. It was not easy; we had the advantage of numerical superiority, but it feels good to win. We must focus on the positive things we did but also know that we still have a lot to improve. We must continue to work and have the right mindset."
Jake O’Brien important goal to get 3 points for @OL in their away win at Rennes 0-1 🇫🇷⚽️🇮🇪👏👏👏 @obrienjake_ @quorum_sports pic.twitter.com/HAFFImXyFZ
— Pat Deane (@paddyd56) November 12, 2023
O'Brien is a former Youghal United academy graduate, who joined English top-flight side Crystal Palace on loan in 2019 after a season from Cork City. He then signed a permanent deal with Palace in 2021 and was quickly loaned out to Swindon Town to gain experience.
His next loan move was to Belgium to play for the second division side at R.W.D. Molenbeek on loan. He helped the side win promotion to Belgium's top league.
After catching the eye of several clubs, Palace turned down multiple bids from England before eventually selling him to Lyon last summer in a €1 million deal in August. Since then, he made his debut and achieved the distinction of being the first Irishman to play in the French top-flight since Tony Cascarino did so with Nancy in 2000, starting against Reims last October.
O’Brien told the Ligue 1 Show last month that he was aiming to help Lyon establish themselves among the European elite once more, “I want to stay here; I want to be part of the club; I want to make great memories here and get this club back to where it should be,” said the Ireland youth international.
He added, “I think for now, just getting the club as high up the table as we can and get off the bottom because I mean it’s not good enough for a club this size. We need to be challenging at the other end of the table, and I think we will be because we have great players here, and it is only a matter of time.”
Lyon and O'Brien's next game will be against Lille on November 25.
