Monaco United Women made history on Sunday with their first-ever home match and their first-ever home victory, even though the win did not come easy. 

Despite what the 5-2 scoreline might suggest, Monaco United had to work considerably hard against a stubborn Mougins side at the Didier Deschamps Stadium.

Playing in front of their own supporters for the first time, Marco Simone’s team dominated possession from the outset and launched attack after attack. But Mougins had clearly come with a plan, sitting deep and defending in numbers, forcing the hosts to get creative in their search for a breakthrough.

For the longest part of the match, it was one-way traffic. Monaco United’s goalkeeper found herself with precious little to do, watching from a distance as her teammates camped in the opposition half. At the other end, the Mougins keeper was much busier, dealing with wave after wave of pressure.

Then came the twist. Against the run of play, Mougins caught Monaco United on the break and took the lead, momentarily silencing the home crowd.

The response came just before half-time when captain Rachel Robert struck a superb volley to level things at 1-1, finally rewarding Monaco United’s dominance with a goal.

“To be honest, it was a tough game,” Sara Lakhssassi told Monaco Life after the match.

The second half though brought a different story. Monaco United pushed ahead early on, but when Mougins balanced the scale at 2-2, the match hung in the balance. Robert stepped up again, firing home her second to restore the lead, and this time there was no coming back for the visitors. Two more goals sealed to a convincing win and sent the home fans away delighted

“We kept focus, we were all together,” Lakhssassi added. “But we won, in the end we won, so that’s the big news and we are happy for that.”

It wasn’t the easy performance Monaco United might have hoped for in their historic first home match, but grinding out results when the opposition makes life difficult is a valuable skill. The victory extends their perfect start to four wins from four matches.

The team will now travel to Cagnes-sur-Mer next Sunday looking to maintain their winning run.

See also: 

Monaco United Women cruise to six goal victory ahead of historic home debut

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Main photo credit: Liam Fabre