LE HAVRE, France (Interstat) — In a match turned on its head by a historic early dismissal, Le Havre defied numerical disadvantage to secure a dramatic 2-1 victory over Toulouse in a Ligue 1 contest at Stade Océane on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026.

The fixture was thrown into chaos almost immediately when Le Havre captain and defender Arouna Sanganté was shown a straight red card in just the second minute for a last-man foul, forcing the hosts to play nearly the entire match a man down. The incident upended all pregame projections, including Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a 1-1 draw, and its ELO system, which gave Le Havre a 72.9 percent probability to win under normal circumstances.

Despite the severe setback, Le Havre organized defensively and found a breakthrough just before halftime. Forward Issa Soumaré, the game’s dominant figure, opened the scoring in the 43rd minute, finishing a move assisted by midfielder Simon Ebonog to send the reduced side into the break with an improbable lead.

Toulouse responded swiftly after the restart. Substitute Djibril Sidibé, who had just entered the match, leveled the score in the third minute of first-half stoppage time, converting a pass from fellow substitute Santiago Hidalgo to make it 1-1.

Any momentum for the visitors was short-lived, however. Soumaré struck again for Le Havre just eight minutes into the second half, completing his brace in the 53rd minute to restore the host’s lead. The goal was set up by substitute Dayann Methalie, whose through ball split the Toulouse defense.

The match grew increasingly fractious as Toulouse pressed for another equalizer, resulting in a flurry of yellow cards. Five players were booked in total, with Toulouse’s Cristian Cásseres Jr. (49th minute), Guillaume Restes (54th), and Santiago Hidalgo (88th), and Le Havre’s Simon Ebonog (55th) and Dayann Methalie (70th) all receiving cautions.

Le Havre’s disciplined defensive structure, reshaped after the early red card, held firm against Toulouse’s pressure for the remainder of the match to seal a memorable three points. The victory marks a winning start to the Ligue 1 campaign for Le Havre, moving their record to 1 win, 0 losses in the competition and across all competitions this season. Toulouse begins its season with a record of 0 wins, 1 loss in both Ligue 1 and overall.

The result was a testament to Le Havre’s tactical resilience, overcoming Sanganté’s early exit through Soumaré’s clinical finishing and a collective defensive effort. Toulouse, despite its numerical advantage for 88 minutes and a goal from substitute Sidibé, was ultimately unable to break down the determined ten men of Le Havre a second time.