Trebor Mahtal snapped up the first domestic cup of his career and was a final day decider away from making it two titles in two seasons of football management. But his focus was now fully on leading San Pédro to the Ivorian title in 2027/28.
Mahtal allowed 7 players, including goalshy striker Junior Romaric Okoubi, to depart at the end of their contracts, which freed up around £1800 per week in wages. He then set about improving the squad with domestic talent, starting with two exciting midfield talents Ange Tapé for £14k from FC OSA and Hugues Koné for £37.5k from AFORGER, who were joined by centre back Thierry Hindé on a free from OSA and 17-year-old striker Okpo Oularé on a free from Denguélé. And it was lucky he got that business done early, as the club was put under a transfer embargo in mid-July due to two rival consortiums looking to seize control, only for both to predictably collapse a week later. That situation was revisited in November, but only as the club looked to appoint a new President in Boubacar Bakayoko.
Mahtal changed up his approach slightly, moving to a slightly unusual looking combination of a 4-3-3 in possession and a 5-2-3 out of possession. Théodore Aby will support Oularé, who’s handed a huge opportunity up front, with Yacine Sahli, Issouf Dosso and Hamed Coulibaly competing for the right wing slot. The two Koné’s (new boy Hugues and homegrown star Moussa) patrol the midfield alongside Tapé, who drops back into defence with Mamadou Komaré and Mouhamadou Karamoko.
San Pédro and Mahtal’s Champions League Bow
San Pédro started the season poorly with a tame 2-0 defeat to surprise champions Mouna in the Ivorian supercup. They improved as they entered the CAF Champions League preliminary round, winning 2-0 at Diables Noirs before Aby’s goal was enough to beat the Congolese 1-0 at home. In the first round, they beat Malawi side Silver Strikers 1-0 away before Coulibaly’s hat trick earned a 3-0 home win to reach the group phase.
They got a group alongside Tanzania’s Azam FC, Mechal of Ethiopia and South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns. The group began with a 3-1 loss in Tanzania, but a Sahli brace earned a 3-0 win over Mechal before Oularé and Aby goals secured a highly creditable 2-2 at home to Sundowns, in which they set a new attendance record of 1,656 and gate receipts record of £6k. Oularé’s goal was enough for a point in Ethiopia, but they lost 2-0 at home to Azam to finish outside the top two. A rotated side finished the group in shame with a club record 7-1 hammering at Sundowns, but did at least finish 3rd in the group.
Targeting the Ivorian Title
The bookies retained ASEC Mimosas as huge favourites to win the Ivorian title with odds of Evens. San Pédro were 8/1, followed by Stade d’Abidjan (12/1), SO Armée, AFAD Plateau and Stella Club (16/1) and holders FC Mouna (18/1).
The league campaign began with Moussa and Oularé’s first goal for the club earning a 2-0 at Bingerville. Kouamé’s first senior goal edged a big first home game 2-0 against Mimosas before Oularé made it 3 in 3 and Tapé scored his first goal in a 3-1 victory at Gagnoa. And they went top of the league for the first time as Sahli and Aby sealed a 2-0 win at home to Stade d’Abidjan. Two 1-0 victories teed up a trip to holders Mouna, and San Pédro nailed down their intentions as Oularé and Aby’s first-half strikes secured a dominant 2-0 win.
The winning start ended with 3 draws in 4 games as a small squad began to struggle with injuries, before dominating Sol FC 3-0 with goals by striker Ouérmi Camara, who was in for the injured Aby, Oularé and Tapé. Aby returned to score both goals at home to LYS and San Pédro went into a 2-month mid-season break still unbeaten, with only 3 goals conceded and a huge 10-point lead.
2028 began with a couple of tricky away games. But an unusually entertaining match saw them win 4-2 at Stade d’Abidjan, including a first senior goal for 17-year-old midfielder Serge Fofana, before a dull but important 0-0 at Mimosas. Aby scored twice as they thrashed struggling Bingerville 4-0 and they strengthened their grip on the title race with a 5-0 hammering of Gagnoa before 0-0s at home to Africa Sports and at Stella Club, leaving them 11 points clear with 9 to play. But the mid-season stutter continued as a 2-0 defeat at home to Mouna was not only a first defeat of the season but also made it 3 games without scoring since Aby and Oularé picked up injuries.
Camara stepped up with a brace to down Zoman 2-1 away and Aby returned with a goal as they thrashed Bouaké 5-2 led by a Moussa brace. But another 0-0 at AFAD Plateau kept them 9 points clear of Stade d’Abidjan with 5 games remaining.
Game 26 – SO Armée (6th, home): The run-in didn’t begin well as a poor performance, in which San Pédro wasted 17 chances, was punished by Armée scoring their first shot on target early in the second half. But, as is typical of Ivorian football, Stade d’Abidjan also lost 4-0 at home to Mouna to keep San Pédro 9 points clear.
Game 27 – Sol FC (6th, away): San Pédro fell behind early on at Sol and struggled to get going. But Mahtal went attacking and eventually got the reward as Oularé equalised on 74 minutes before late Moussa and Camara strikes earned a comfortable 3-1 win. Stade d’Abidjan also won, maintaining a 9-point gap that meant San Pédro were all-but champions.
Game 28 – RC Abidjan (15th, home): The league title was on the line against a relegation battler. San Pédro started well, having 9 shots without causing too much of a threat inside half an hour, but finally got in front as Sahli headed in Oularé’s floated cross. After racking up 19 shots, they somehow didn’t score again, but luckily their opponents offered zero threat and they cruised to a 1-0 victory.
San Pédro went on to win the Ligue 1 title by a huge 12 points, finishing on 70 points after 21 wins, 7 draws and just 2 defeats, scoring 55 and only conceding 13. Aby was the 2nd top scorer with 13 in 26, 8 behind Bouaké’s Eddy Angoura with Oularé 4th on 11 in 26, and also made the most key passes in the league (84). But Koné was the best player in the league with an impressive 7.45 rating, just ahead of Aby on 7.34, and he won the Best Player and Young Player of the Season while Mahtal won Manager of the Season.
Celebrating Ivorian Success
Mahtal was delighted to lead San Pédro to the Ivorian title at a canter, wrapping up his second league title in just three seasons as a manager. Aby led the way with 17 goals and 9 assists, ahead of Oularé (15 goals and 7 assists), Coulibaly (9 goals and 4 assists) and Camara (8 goals and 3 assists). But the star of the team is undoubtedly Koné, who wants to join a bigger club after an impressive 7.34 rating from 43 matches.
However, as much as he’d enjoyed his time in Ivory Coast, the title success meant it was time for Mahtal to seek out pastures new. But where would he end up as he sought out club number three on his African adventure? Join us on Monday to find out!
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